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Court finds duty breaches, no broad conspiracy in Willis Re recruiting case - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Court finds duty breaches, no broad conspiracy in Willis Re recruiting case by Gavin Souter Agents and Brokers , Reinsurance Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. , Guy Carpenter & Co. , Marsh & McLennan , Willis Towers Watson Feb 20, 2026 Former executives at Guy Carpenter & Co. breached their duties while helping recruit colleagues for Willis Re, but dissatisfaction with pay and other conditions at Guy Carpenter was also a significant factor in the defections, a London court ruled Friday. In Guy Carpenter & Co. Ltd. v. Willis Ltd. , the United Kingdom’s High Court of Justice found that James Summers, Guy Carpenter’s former deputy head of global specialties, and John Fletcher, its former Bermuda chief, improperly assisted Willis Re’s recruitment effort before resigning in mid-2025. The two executives remain on “garden leave,” working out their notice periods with Guy Carpenter. The court also found that Lucy Clarke, a senior Willis Re executive who previously worked at a unit of Marsh, Guy Carpenter’s parent, and who led the hiring initiative, induced some of those breaches. Willis Towers Watson had sold its long-standing reinsurance brokerage business to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in 2021, but after the noncompete related to the sale expired, it announced in 2024 that it would reenter the sector through a joint venture with Bain Capital. More than 20 Guy Carpenter employees resigned over several weeks between June and early July 2025 to join the newly formed Willis Re. The court found that the former executives’ misconduct included sharing confidential pay information during discussions about potential recruits. However, the court rejected Guy Carpenter’s allegation of a broader conspiracy to take business and declined to extend a bar on the former Guy Carpenter staff from soliciting the firm’s clients and prospects through 2027. The court found that internal dissatisfaction at Guy Carpenter — particularly regarding compensation — was a significant factor in the employees’ decisions to leave. The court noted the “threat to leave” culture within Guy Carpenter. “In other words, in order for someone to get any rise outside the normal pay cycle, they would have to resign or threaten to do so, generally while holding an offer of employment from a competitor,” according to the ruling. In addition, although there was a risk that Guy Carpenter would lose clients to Willis Re due to the staff moves, as one of the largest reinsurance brokers in the market, Guy Carpenter holds other attractions for clients, the ruling said. “The reality is that, at least for a few years, Willis Re is more likely to be a competitor to the small (‘challenger’) brokers, than to the two big beasts of the reinsurance broking market, Guy Carpenter and Aon,” the ruling states. Any claims for financial damages will be addressed in a later phase of the case. Guy Carpenter said in a statement that it was pleased that Ms. Clark, Mr. Summers and Mr. Fletcher had been found to have behaved unlawfully. “Behavior like this undermines trust and integrity in the market and totally disregards the interests of clients,” it said. Willis Re said in a statement that it welcomed the ruling. “The court found that limited breaches (admitted before trial) occurred but fell well short of the sweeping allegations brought against Willis Re,” it said. 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