"I Am Pleased With How This Matter Concluded."

Moving On
By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, The Washington Post, "K Street Insider"
June 24, 2008

Harry A. Sporidis is a happy man. After a months-long battle with his former employer, Omnicom Group, Sporidis last week finally settled a lawsuit that had rocked him and the lobbying world.

Late last year, the Washington Group, a lobbying subsidiary of Omnicom, sued Sporidis, one of its senior vice presidents, for stealing away corporate clients when he jumped to another firm. The plaintiff sought more than half a million dollars in damages.

At the time, experts expressed astonishment that the dispute had gone to court at all. Lobbying is a very personal business. Clients tend to stick with their lobbyists like glue. When lobbyists move, one of their calling cards is almost always the "book of business" they can bring with them to the new job.

But Omnicom, an international advertising firm, tried to stop Sporidis from taking his clients with him. Apparently, it failed.

Omnicom declined to comment, and the settlement's terms are confidential. But Sporidis, in a statement, said: "I am pleased with how this matter concluded and that conclusion . . . only confirm[s] my position throughout this entire process. I am excited about moving on with my clients and having a long career in a profession that I truly enjoy."

Sporidis now works as a lobbyist at the law firm Powell Goldstein.
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Link to this story in Mr. Birnbaum's column, "K Street Insider," in The Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/23/AR2008062301797_2.html?sub=AR&sid=ST2008062301854&pos=