Business Development

Firm Sues Ex-Lawyer for Unpaid Legal Bills of his New Employer

Updated: A New York law firm has filed a lawsuit against a counsel who worked there for just 54 days before becoming general counsel of a company that never paid its legal fees. Cohen Tauber Spievack & Wagner sued the lawyer, Matthew Browndorf, and the California company he joined, Carlton…

Sep 12, 2008 1:26 PM CDT

Judge Calls Fee Request ‘Grossly Excessive,’ Trims Nearly $1M

A federal judge has found that two law firms were seeking excessive and unreasonable fees in a 2007 case and slashed their fee request by about $900,000. The firms, Beveridge & Diamond and Bingham McCutchen, had sought $1.9 million from Kern County for representing nearby Los Angeles in a lawsuit,…

Sep 10, 2008 6:08 PM CDT

Legal Fees a ‘Breathtaking’ $93M-Plus in Bratz Battle

Two toy companies battling for rights to the Bratz dolls-with-attitude have racked up legal fees of at least $93 million in the case. MGA Entertainment has spent $63 million in fees since 2004 defending a lawsuit by Mattel Inc. that contended the doll’s designer conceived of the idea before leaping…

Sep 10, 2008 12:17 PM CDT

Judge Approves Record $688M Attorney Fees in Enron Securities Case

Securities class action law firm Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins is among the plaintiffs law firms awarded a record $688 million in fees in Enron shareholder litigation. U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon approved the award, the largest ever in a securities fraud case, the Daily Journal reports (sub. req.).…

Sep 9, 2008 12:25 PM CDT

5th Circuit Orders Winstead to Pay Back $500K in Bankruptcy Fees

A federal appeals court has ruled the doctrine of equitable mootness does not protect $500,000 in legal fees paid to Dallas-based Winstead for work it performed in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said two lower courts should not have allowed the law…

Sep 8, 2008 1:19 PM CDT

New Indictment of Fen-phen Lawyers Adds Charges, Seeks $50M More

A new indictment against two lawyers accused of defrauding their fen-phen clients adds new charges and seeks $50 million more in forfeiture. The lawyers, William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr., were tried in Kentucky this summer on a single charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. A mistrial was declared…

Sep 5, 2008 3:53 PM CDT

America’s Cup Challenger to Be Determined by N.Y. Court

A legal battle will determine whether Oracle CEO Lawrence Ellison’s $10 million yacht can compete in the next America’s Cup. According to the New York Times, the dispute has led to “enough billable hours for lawyers to buy boats of their own.” The case is pending before New York’s highest…

Sep 2, 2008 5:43 PM CDT

Palin Represented by Private Lawyer in Firing Probe

Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is being represented by an Anchorage lawyer in a probe into the firing of Alaska’s public safety commissioner. Employment and professional liability lawyer Thomas Van Flein told KTUU.com that he was hired because the attorney general has a potential conflict of interest because he…

Sep 2, 2008 10:59 AM CDT

Ex-Counsel Sues Detroit Mayor, Says He Owes $79K Legal Bill

Updated: A former defense lawyer for beleagered Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who himself is an attorney, has sued over an allegedly unpaid legal bill of nearly $80,000. “Attorney William Moffitt, a high-powered Alexandria, Va., lawyer, sued Kilpatrick in Wayne County Circuit Court on Wednesday, accusing the mayor of failing to…

Aug 28, 2008 6:44 PM CDT

$1.55B in Fees is Enough, Judge Rules in Vioxx Case

A federal judge has capped fees in the $4.85 billion Vioxx settlement at 32 percent. U.S. District Judge Elden Fallon of New Orleans said the usual contingency award ranges from 33.3 percent to 40 percent, but in this case the capped fees are not “a paltry award,” the Associated Press…

Aug 28, 2008 4:33 PM CDT

9th Circuit Overturns Morrison & Foerster Fee Sanction

A federal appeals court has ordered a trial judge to award Morrison & Foerster reasonable attorney fees for its work in a civil rights case and overturned a sanction against a lawyer in the case. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed with a trial judge’s assertion that the…

Aug 28, 2008 11:41 AM CDT

Author Salman Rushdie Files Libel Suit—and Wins—Within 1 Month

In a unusually speedy resolution of a libel suit that may serve as a model for others, author Salman Rushdie received a public apology from a defendant yesterday in London’s High Court and a formal declaration from a judge that claims made in a book about him were false. Salman…

Aug 27, 2008 6:07 PM CDT

Successful Second Amendment Legal Team Seeks $3.5M in Fees

The legal team that won a U.S. Supreme Court Second Amendment ruling is seeking $3.5 million in legal fees. Lawyer Alan Gura says in a motion filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., that he and two other lawyers worked more than 3,000 hours on the case, Legal Times reports.…

Aug 27, 2008 5:54 PM CDT

Two N.Y. Lawyers Get Pension Tabs: $84K and $600K

Updated: The New York lawyer whose multiple employment sparked a statewide pension probe has been ordered to repay nearly $84,000 in benefits. Meanwhile, another New York lawyer has been told he owes a much bigger tab of more than $600,000. However, a judge’s ruling has cast doubt on whether they…

Aug 27, 2008 1:43 PM CDT

Judge Approves Deal Letting Melvyn Weiss Keep Future Fees

A New York judge has approved a deal that allows former securities class action lawyer Melvyn Weiss to keep future fees from some cases he worked on at his former law firm, now known as Milberg. Weiss pleaded guilty to paying kickbacks to lead plaintiffs in securities lawsuits and is…

Aug 27, 2008 1:07 PM CDT