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Because there's something inherently hilarious to us about agents fighting, especially when lawsuits are involved, we point out today's LAT story on the suit filed yesterday by former William Morris agents Steve Glick and Gregory Lipstone, who allege that the agency cheated them out of their fair share of WMA's blood money after a power struggle drove them into the consoling arms of ICM. Says the LAT:

Glick and Lipstone began working at Beverly Hills-based William Morris in the early 1980s and climbed their way up the ranks from the agency's famed mailroom. Glick became a senior vice president at the agency by age 32, and Lipstone served for a time as the head of the network TV department. [...]

The complaint said they left William Morris after a tumultuous period inside the agency's headquarters at the end of 2004. Power was consolidated then under Jim Wiatt, now chief executive, and President David Wirtschafter, both of whom came to William Morris from International Creative Management.

That struggle between the "old guard" and the new executives precipitated the departure of three longtime agents: TV chief Sam Haskell, music agent Richard Rosenberg and Chief Operating Officer Steve Kram.

Glick and Lipstone allege that those defections left them out of favor. When they chose to resign, they said, the agency reneged on long-standing assurances that it would "take care of their own" through stock ownership and compensation. But, based on summary accounting records, the two agents alleged that management intentionally underreported profits, bilking them out of millions of dollars.

Nancy L. Fineman, who represents Glick and Lipstone, said it had been difficult for the two agents to come forward.

"It's a tough decision to make because of the length of time and the loyalty they felt for William Morris," she said.

Indeed, we have no idea if the lawsuit has merit, but we do know this: There is perhaps no greater accomplishment in the agenting world than shepherding two go-getters from the mailroom to the highest levels of the organization, driving them out in a power stuggle after extracting years of value, and then stabbing them in the back as they carry their cardboard boxes out of the building. It's a high degree-of-difficulty move, but the satisfaction of finally pulling it off more than justifies the incredible time commitment.