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Stephenson Harwood Secures Court Victory for Guy Carpenter
Stephenson Harwood LLP has secured an important victory for Guy Carpenter, one of the world’s leading reinsurance brokers, in Guy Carpenter & Company & ors v Willis Re UK Limited & ors [2026] EWHC 361 (KB).
In July 2025 Guy Carpenter brought proceedings against Willis Re and other entities and individuals alleging that they had engaged in an unlawful team raid on their Global Specialties business. An expedited three-week trial commenced on 19 November 2025.
In its judgment handed down on 20 February 2026, the Court has found that the Defendants engaged in unlawful conduct in their recruitment attempts, which justified interim injunctive relief to prevent the Defendants from exploiting the unlawful “springboard” advantage they had obtained. The Defendants admitted to certain unlawful conduct prior to trial but the Court has found that the breaches of contractual and fiduciary duty went beyond those that had been admitted. The Court has also found that there were conspiracies involving Defendants in both London and Bermuda and has made findings of dishonesty against the individual leading the recruitment exercise for Willis Re, for which Willis Re was vicariously liable.
Guy Carpenter’s claim for financial relief, including the losses it has suffered and an account of profits earned by the Defendants as a result of the unlawful conduct, continues. The full judgment can be read here: 2026 EWHC 361 (KB).
The team was led by Richard Garcia, Head of Corporate and Commercial Disputes, and included a cross departmental team from Stephenson Harwood’s Commercial Litigation and Employment teams, with assistance from global relationship partner Helena Berman. The core team included: Chris Pettett, Alex Winsley, Chris Spiller, Natalie Edwards, Kirk Goodway, Kyrsten Baker, Lauren Palmer, Rosie Mennis and Emily Fanning.