Howden US Services is staring at another legal fight. Willis Towers Watson says the broker has been staging “coast-to-coast raids” to build its U.S. business, including an alleged grab of an entire team. The complaint was filed in federal court in New Jersey.
According to WTW, Danielle Lombardo — a producer and co-lead of the real estate, hospitality and leisure vertical — orchestrated the exit.
She and four team members resigned without notice. Within 48 hours, the lawsuit claims, millions of dollars in accounts shifted to Howden.
WTW insists it isn’t trying to block Lombardo from working for a rival. The focus, it says, is on protecting client relationships. The filing seeks to stop her and others from soliciting, servicing, or taking business tied to WTW clients and prospects.
The lawsuit paints a broader picture. WTW accuses Howden of coordinated raids that can sweep up more than 100 employees at once, describing the strategy as a cheaper, faster path to U.S. expansion than building organically.
This isn’t the first time the tactic has been challenged. Subsidiaries of Marsh & McLennan lodged similar claims earlier in the summer.
Courts handling those cases issued partial injunctions against Howden and certain employees, restricting their ability to pitch former clients or use confidential information.
Since then, WTW says, Howden has lured over a dozen of its people. After reviewing those departures and the related client moves, WTW decided it had no choice but to take the matter to court.
Marsh USA has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accusing four former Florida-based executives of orchestrating a large-scale employee and client defection to Howden US Services, a newcomer aiming to establish a U.S. presence.
According to the complaint, the alleged scheme began in early 2025, when Howden attempted to enter the U.S. market by acquiring Risk Strategies.
After that effort failed, Howden allegedly shifted its strategy to hiring top personnel and acquiring clients directly from Marsh and its affiliates (see TOP Global Insurance & Reinsurance Brokers).
The suit names Michael Parrish, Marsh’s Florida zone leader, along with Giselle Lugones, Robert Lynn, and Julie Layton. Lugones and Lynn held regional sales leadership roles, while Layton oversaw risk management out of Marsh’s Miami office, according to BestWire.
