A Washington, D.C., solo practitioner is suing Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, saying the Am Law 100 firm cut him out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees from a prominent contingency fee case he claims he referred to the firm. 

Gary Silversmith, in a suit filed late last month in D.C. Superior Court, alleges that Akin Gump is avoiding a contractual commitment to pay his firm half of an approximately $1.5 million contingency fee. He said the firm has only paid him $350,000 and he’s seeking another $400,000 from Akin Gump.