Business Development

Panel Says La. Should Pay Katrina Doc’s $450K Defense Costs

As one member called a Louisiana doctor who at one point was accused of criminally euthanizing patients in her care a hero, a panel today recommended that the state should pay some $450,000 in legal defense costs for Dr. Anna Pou. After working at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans,…

Mar 17, 2009 9:06 PM CDT

New Win for Dismissed Dental Student: $321K Legal Fee Caps $1.7M Award

In another federal court victory for an unfairly dismissed University of Michigan dental student, Alissa Zwick has been awarded not quite $321,000 in attorney fees and costs. The university argued that the attorney fee sought was excessive, but U.S. District Judge Marianne Battani awarded all but $2,300 of the amount…

Mar 17, 2009 5:25 PM CDT

Battered Billables: Deeper Discounts Likely, Fixed Fees on the Table

Law firms are offering smaller rate increases and greater discounts as they seek to keep clients who are demanding lower legal bills. In the past, law firm rate increases were an annual rite, with typical boosts of 6 percent to 8 percent, according to the Fulton County Daily Report. This…

Mar 17, 2009 12:17 PM CDT

5th Circuit Strikes Attorney Fee Award in Katrina Bad-Faith Case

An award of punitive damages and attorney fees in a bad-faith case against an insurance company has been overturned by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. was mistaken when it denied coverage for wind-based damage from Hurricane Katrina, wrongly attributing the…

Mar 13, 2009 12:18 AM CDT

Novelist Clive Cussler Told to Pay $13.9M Legal Bill in Licensing Dispute

A best-selling novelist who lost a California lawsuit contending that moviemakers breached a licensing agreement had already been ordered to pay $5 million in damages. But now another $13.9 million has been added to his litigation tab. Under a Los Angeles Superior Court ruling this week, Clive Cussler must pay…

Mar 11, 2009 7:43 PM CDT

Those Letters About Fee Increases Are Source of In-House Amusement

Law firms informing in-house counsel about planned fee increases aren’t being taken seriously, according to one corporate lawyer speaking at a conference last week. Large law firms increased fees by an average of about 5 percent in January 2009, according to data released last week by the Hildebrandt Institute and…

Mar 11, 2009 2:17 PM CDT

Receiver Seeks Clawback of Legal Fees Paid to Paul Hastings & Fulbright Firms

Asked by a federal judge in Utah to recover money on behalf of investors allegedly fleeced by a claimed Ponzi scheme operator, Val Southwick, a receiver has focused on two major law firms. Contending that money from the Ponzi scheme was used to fund legal defense fees, the receiver filed…

Mar 10, 2009 6:12 PM CDT

11th Circuit Nixes Attorney Fee, Although Paralegal Won OT Pay From Law Firm

Sometimes a reasonable attorney fee is no attorney fee, a federal judge said when attorney Rudy Barack sought attorney fees after winning $3,500 for a paralegal seeking overtime pay from a Florida law firm. And the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals apparently agrees, upholding in an opinion (PDF)…

Mar 6, 2009 12:25 AM CST

Former IRS Commissioner to Affiliate with Plaintiffs Firm

A former commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service is taking on a new role advising whistle-blowing clients of the Dallas-based law firm Baron & Budd. Margaret Milner Richardson, who was IRS commissioner from 1993 to 1997, will serve as co-counsel on a case-by-case basis to represent clients who report suspected…

Mar 4, 2009 4:59 PM CST

Wilmer Asks for $1.3M Legal Fee, Gets $730K + Lecture from Judge

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr hasn’t had a lot of luck lately when requesting legal fee reimbursements in a long-running whistle-blower case. Last summer, when WilmerHale and co-counsel Wiley Rein sought $20 million in fees in Miller v. Bill Harbert International Construction Inc., Chief Judge Royce Lamberth of U.S.…

Mar 3, 2009 2:10 AM CST

7th Circuit Affirms $80K Sanction: If Lawyer Can’t Pay, Bankruptcy Is Next Step

Known for his sometimes-blistering views on attorney competency issues, Judge Frank Easterbrook of the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals takes something of a kindly tone, initially, in an opinion today upholding an $80,000 sanction against an impoverished attorney. But, writing on behalf of a three-judge panel, Easterbrook nonetheless…

Feb 28, 2009 1:59 AM CST

Calif. Appeals Court to Michael Jackson: Pay Legal Bill

A California law firm that represented Michael Jackson in a number of civil lawsuits has also been busy pursuing the famous pop singer for payment. Yesterday, in the latest chapter of a protracted court battle over legal fees, a state appeals court sided with Ayscough & Marar concerning the $440,000…

Feb 24, 2009 7:51 PM CST

Alleged $3.5B Petters Ponzi Scheme Racks Up Another $1.6M in Legal Bills

An alleged $3.5 billion Ponzi scheme that a Minnesota businessman is accused of operating for a decade is keeping a number of Twin Cities law firms busy. The latest legal fee requests concerning the ongoing civil and criminal cases against Tom Petters total $1.6 million, reports the Star Tribune. The…

Feb 24, 2009 6:54 PM CST

Appeals Court Tosses Malpractice Verdict Against Seyfarth Shaw

A California appeals court has overturned a malpractice judgment against Seyfarth Shaw that was won by a fitness instructor who sued the firm over a missed deadline. The Court of Appeal said a judge had erred in rulings on behalf of the plaintiff, Tae Bo promoter Billy Blanks, according to…

Feb 23, 2009 8:04 PM CST

Bankruptcy Judge Nixes Sidley’s Top $1,100 Hourly Rate, OKs $925

In a hearing today, a federal bankruptcy court judge in Wilmington, Del., said he won’t OK a top $1,100 hourly fee requested by Sidley Austin in a newspaper company’s case. But U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Kevin Carey approved a top hourly fee of $925 in the Tribune Co. bankruptcy, Bloomberg…

Feb 20, 2009 9:03 PM CST