Slarskey LLC Achieves Dual Victories for Executive Recruiter Client

October 1, 2025

Slarskey LLC recently secured two significant wins in the New York County Supreme Court for firm client and industry-leading investment-banking recruiter Genevieve Fraser. On August 29, Slarskey LLC obtained a preliminary injunction against Ms. Fraser’s former employer, Maven Search Group, enjoining Maven from taking any action to interfere with Ms. Fraser’s ability to work with her own clients. One week later, on September 5—in a separate but related action brought by Maven’s client Guggenheim Securities—the firm not only defeated Guggenheim’s request for an injunction that would have prevented Ms. Fraser from contacting Guggenheim’s employees but also obtained a complete dismissal of Guggenheim’s complaint.

In February 2025, Maven owed Ms. Fraser more than $2 million in compensation for her company-leading placements made in 2024. Rather than pay Ms. Fraser the compensation it owed her, Maven trumped up false allegations and terminated her, withholding millions in compensation it owed her as well as long-promised equity. Maven’s termination of Ms. Fraser was even more galling because it came after she had raised concerns about unethical business practices by Maven's managing partner, Gaurav Sethi.

When Ms. Fraser’s clients found out that Maven had fired her, they understandably terminated their relationships with Maven and sought out Ms. Fraser’s continued services in connection with new recruitment efforts. Maven, presumably disappointed that it was unable to keep Ms. Fraser’s valuable client relationships after abruptly terminating her, initiated an arbitration against her to assert unenforceable restrictive covenants and prevent Ms. Fraser from moving forward with her own business, Munroe Fraser LLC, to continue serving her long-time clients.

Simultaneously, Sethi and Maven worked with one of their own clients, Guggenheim Securities, as it filed a separate tortious interference action against Ms. Fraser, attempting, in effect, to enforce derivative restrictive covenants against Ms. Fraser (i.e., to prevent Ms. Fraser from recruiting Guggenheim employees now that she was no longer employed by Maven). Sethi and Maven apparently fomented that litigation by telling Guggenheim that Ms. Fraser had acted disloyally, when employed by Maven, to facilitate the recruitment of a Guggenheim executive.

Sethi and Guggenheim did not realize, however, that Ms. Fraser had text messages showing Sethi’s direct involvement with, and knowledge of, that placement.

The Slarskey LLC team of David Slarskey, Christine M. Rodriguez, and Keith Dore snapped into action: in addition to counterclaiming against Maven in arbitration for the millions in unpaid compensation and equity, the team brought an injunction application in New York County Supreme Court, seeking to assure Ms. Fraser and her clients that they could continue to work together. In the parallel Guggenheim action, the team opposed Guggenheim’s injunction motion and moved to dismiss Guggenheim’s baseless complaint.

The Court granted immediate relief to Ms. Fraser in both cases. On August 29, Justice Jennifer Schecter of the Commercial Division heard argument and ruled from the bench, enjoining Maven from interfering with the relationship between Ms. Fraser and her clients and providing important guidance about the impropriety of Maven’s attempts to enforce its restrictive covenants against Ms. Fraser.

One week later, Justice Schecter heard argument in Guggenheim’s case against Ms. Fraser. Again ruling from the bench, the Court denied Guggenheim’s injunction motion and dismissed Guggenheim’s complaint, noting that “other than putting words on paper” and the mere “invocation of words,” Guggenheim had failed to set forth factual allegations sufficient to allege that Ms. Fraser tortiously interfered with Guggenheim’s contract with Maven or with Guggenheim’s prospective business relations with its own employees.

Munroe Fraser is now in business and substantially freed from Maven’s and Guggenheim’s efforts to restrict its activity.

Slarskey LLC is very pleased to have obtained this relief for a top performer in her industry. We are eager to continue to seek redress for Ms. Fraser against Maven in the pending arbitration and look forward to securing a full recovery of her unpaid compensation and earned equity, and compensation for the losses she has sustained in defending against the vindictive campaign that has been waged against her by her former employer and her former employer’s client.