The Revolving Door Continues To Spin At Faruqi & Faruqi

Did Alexandra Marchuk's lawsuit against Faruqi & Faruqi help destabilize the entire firm?

The courtroom battle between Alexandra Marchuk and the litigation boutique where she once worked, Faruqi & Faruqi, rages on. As longtime readers will recall, Marchuk alleges that F&F partner Juan Monteverde sexually harassed her, in severe fashion, and that the firm’s leaders ignored his alleged misdeeds.

But no matter who wins in court, it’s possible to argue that the firm is ending up the loser. It has endured extensive bad publicity, and some of the resulting instability has apparently led to lawyer departures.

Who are the latest attorneys to defect from Faruqi & Faruqi?

We’ve heard that five lawyers have left Faruqi & Faruqi in recent weeks: Ligaya Hernandez, Michael Hynes, Beth Keller, Francis McConville, and Raj Srivatsan. Srivatsan’s departure is particularly interesting, according to one source: “Srivatsan, whom the Faruqis claim to have hired to become managing partner of their Delaware office, departed the firm after two weeks working for Juan Monteverde.”

We have previously covered the difficulties the Faruqis have encountered in trying to staff their Wilmington outpost. Word on the street is that their subpar partner pay isn’t helping their recruiting efforts.

Five lawyers is not an insignificant number. According to the firm website, F&F currently has 24 lawyers. Going from almost 30 lawyers down to 24 lawyers amounts to losing almost a fifth of headcount.

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We reached out to the firm for possible comment on these defections. Lubna and Nadeem Faruqi, the brother-and-sister team behind the firm, did not get back to us. We contacted the Faruqis directly after learning that Rubenstein Associates, the high-powered public relations firm, no longer represents them.

As for the latest developments in Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi, nothing terribly exciting is going on. Fact discovery is now complete, and the defendants have moved for partial summary judgment on Marchuk’s defamation claim. That claim arose out of a press release the defendants issued about the case that Marchuk claims to be defamatory. If you’re curious, you can read the defendants’ memo in support of their motion here.

We’ll continue to monitor both the litigation and goings-on at the Faruqi firm. If you have information to share, feel free to email us or text us (646-820-8477). Thanks.

Earlier: Faruqi & Faruqi: On The Prowl For Partners?
Alexandra Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi: Are Lawyers Leaving The Faruqi Firm?
Prior ATL coverage of Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi

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