Corient Wins Round in Court Against Wealth Manager Who Defected

Corient, the global asset manager owned by an Abu Dhabi sovereign fund, won the right to resume an emergency arbitration that has so far blocked one of its former wealth advisers from working at a competitor.

A Delaware Chancery Court judge rejected John Lafferty Jr.'s bid to shut down noncompete-related proceedings in Miami, where an arbitrator issued a temporary restraining order in favor of Corient, an affiliate of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co. Lafferty consented by signing a contract that referenced an arbitration clause and accepting $7 million in pay before jumping to rival William Blair, the judge found Monday. ...