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7. Aon sues Willis Towers Watson over CFO hire

Posted On: Dec. 26, 2017 8:20 AM CST

Aon P.L.C. went on the litigation warpath against its main brokerage rivals over a short period in 2017.

In late September, it sued Willis Towers Watson P.L.C., alleging the brokerage’s chief financial officer, Michael Burwell, knew about Aon’s trade secrets from when he worked with the brokerage as a PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. consultant prior to taking the Willis Towers Watson job. Aon charged he had breached his fiduciary duty to the brokerage in taking on his new post. The article about the lawsuit was the seventh most read Risk Management story on BI's website in 2017.

About a week later, Aon resolved that dispute with a confidential settlement agreement.  

Then in October, Aon Consulting Inc. filed a federal lawsuit against Marsh L.L.C. and Marsh & McLennan Agency L.L.C., charging the companies had improperly gained access to a secure Aon website to obtain survey reports and data, and used this information to provide compensation consulting services to their customers.

Aon said it had suffered “irreparable injury” and sought damages, a permanent injunction, costs and attorneys’ fees. 

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