By Mike Scarcella

June 30 (Reuters) - Two former partners of Clifford Chance have sued the global law firm in New York, challenging its bid to take back millions of dollars in compensation paid out before they left this year for rival Sidley Austin.

Former Clifford Chance attorneys Clifford Cone and Michael Sabin, who were based in New York and co-led the firm’s U.S. funds and investment management practice, said in their lawsuit filed Monday in federal court that the firm was trying to claw back pay as a “punitive” and “anti-competitive” response to their January departure to a rival firm.

The lawsuit said UK-based Clifford Chance is seeking to recover about $4.4 million from Cone, who joined the firm in 2016, and about $1.4 million from Sabin, who joined in 2020. Both lawyers were equity partners at the more than 3,000-lawyer firm, meaning they shared in its profits.

The legal fight offers a window into the employment and compensation practices of one of the world’s largest law firms. When talent wars spill into court, they can provide a rare glimpse into workplace provisions, lawyer pay and other metrics that are not usually publicly visible.

In a statement, Clifford Chance on Monday said it does not comment on pending litigation and will respond in court.

Cone, Sabin and a lawyer representing them did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Sidley Austin, which is not a defendant, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In their lawsuit, the two lawyers asked a judge in Manhattan to issue a so-called declaratory judgment clarifying rights and obligations under the firm’s partnership agreement.

Sabin and Cone asked the court to rule that New York law and not the laws of the UK should govern the resolution of the dispute between the lawyers and the firm.

The choice of law is critical, they said, because New York prohibits law firm partnership provisions that impose financial penalties requiring departing partners to return earned compensation when they join a competitor.

Allowing UK law to control the dispute, they said in the lawsuit, “would allow any firm with a UK-based office to interpose English law on its US-based counterparts.”

The lawsuit said Cone, Sabin and Clifford Chance have been unable to resolve their dispute through negotiations.

The case is Clifford Cone and Michael Sabin v. Clifford Chance, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 1:26-cv-05508.

For plaintiffs: Leslie Corwin and Matthew Caminiti of Duane Morris

For defendant: No appearance yet

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