Edelman Financial Engines is escalating its legal battle with Mariner Wealth Advisors, filing notice Thursday that it intends to appeal a federal court dismissal to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. The move comes roughly a month after Kansas Federal Court Judge Holly Teeter ruled against Edelman in early June, ending what had been a closely watched dispute over advisor recruitment practices and client data.

The Tenth Circuit hears appeals from federal courts in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, much of Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming. An Edelman spokesperson said the firm remains confident in the merits of the case, adding that its focus is on protecting the trusted client relationships we have built over the past four decades and the long-term interests of our clients, our planners, and our business.

Edelman first sued Mariner in 2023, alleging that the firm encouraged Edelman advisors to breach their non-solicitation agreements and trade secret obligations, including client information, when moving between the two organisations. Mariner countered that Edelman was attempting to strong-arm competitors through lawsuits to send a chilling public message to the broader wealth management industry.

Central to the dispute was the case of Edelman advisor Michael Horne, who joined Mariner in June 2021. During the course of the case, Edelman accused Mariner CEO Marty Bicknell of personally trying to sway Horne to join the firm. In depositions, Bicknell acknowledged speaking to Horne before he had been hired, a detail Edelman's legal team argued demonstrated improper solicitation.

Earlier this year, both firms filed motions to exclude the opposing side's testimony and motions for summary judgment, in which a judge rules on a case before it goes to a jury. Mariner's summary judgment motion was successful, ending the case at the district court level. The trial had also been scheduled to be delayed due to World Cup soccer matches being played in Kansas City, though that issue became moot with Teeter's ruling last month.

In her June ruling, Judge Teeter found that Edelman did not establish that partial client lists taken by Edelman planners to Mariner qualified as trade secrets. She also determined that Edelman failed to prove Mariner advised its hires to bring client data illegally, or that the planners brought more than their memories of client names, which does not rise to the level of a protected trade secret under applicable law.

Teeter also criticised Edelman's legal team for improper briefing tasks, including failing to provide citations and even misrepresenting or modifying evidence to bolster Edelman's case. She wrote that neither problem was a one-off and appeared throughout the briefing, to the point that the court cannot excuse them. The sharp rebuke suggested judicial frustration with the quality of Edelman's legal filings beyond the substantive weaknesses in its claims.

The appeal will now move to a three-judge panel at the Tenth Circuit, which will review Teeter's legal conclusions and determine whether the district court erred in its application of trade secret law or procedural standards. Representatives from Mariner declined to comment on the appeal filing. The outcome could shape how wealth management firms structure advisor employment agreements and what information departing advisors are permitted to retain when changing firms.