Kasowitz Benson Torres, the New York-based firm co-founded by prominent litigator Marc Kasowitz, has sued an ex-Big Law attorney for an alleged breach of contract, claiming his stiffed attorney out of more than $470,000 in legal fees.
Ignacio Foncillas, whose past employers included Boies Schiller Flexner and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, racked up the fees while the Kasowitz firm represented him during a federal grand jury probe in Manhattan, according to a complaint filed Feb. 27 at the New York Supreme Court.
He and his spouse “expressed high praise for the services provided and the outcomes obtained,” the Kasowitz firm said in its complaint.
Foncillas pleaded guilty in June 2018 to more than $9 million in illegal money transfers between the US and Mexico, the Justice Department said at that time. He had operated an unlicensed money-transmitting business, allowing clients to secretly send funds to Mexico while avoiding anti-laundering safeguards and other requirements, according to the Justice statement.
He was sentenced to time served and two years supervised release and was ordered to pay a $7,500 fine. Kasowitz attorney negotiated the plea agreement and Foncillas didn’t “object to, protest, or reject” the firm’s unpaid invoices and disbursements, the firm alleges.
Foncillas, who lives in Coral Gables, Florida, could not immediately be reached for comment. It’s unclear whether he has retained an attorney in the case.
The Kasowitz firm said in a statement that “we have unusually close and collaborative relationships with our clients. However, on those very rare occasions when former clients have refused to pay legal fees that they are obligated to pay and reimburse us for expenses we have fronted, we take necessary and appropriate steps” to recover them.
The well-known firm was founded in 1993 by partners Marc Kasowitz, who has represented former President Donald Trump, and Daniel Benson and Hector Torres.
A LinkedIn page for Ignacio F. states that he worked as a partner for Gibson Dunn from 1992 to 2005 and as counsel for Boies Schiller from 2013 to 2015.
The case is Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP vs. Ignacio Foncillas, NY Supreme Court, Docket No. 651009/2024, complaint filed 2/27/24.