Business Development

GA Judge Tells County to Pay for Alleged Gunman’s Lawyer

A Georgia judge has ordered county officials to pay legal fees to the lead lawyer defending alleged courthouse gunman Brian Nichols. The lawyer, Henderson Hill, is charging $175 an hour, nearly double the state rate of $95 an hour. Judge Hilton Fuller said Fulton County should pay Hill’s legal bills…

Oct 12, 2007 3:10 PM CDT

Big Legal Bill for Exec’s Backdating Defense

Major corporations commonly agree to indemnify officers and directors for legal costs, should they be sued or prosecuted as a result of their work. Otherwise, even CEOs often would find it difficult or impossible to pay the cost of a standard defense. However, the defense price tag can be noteworthy…

Oct 11, 2007 7:56 PM CDT

Lawyer’s RICO Suit for Fees Survives

A federal judge has refused to dismiss part of a lawyer’s RICO suit that contends lawyers for her ex-client helped hide money that should have paid his fees. Judge Gene E.K. Pratter of Philadelphia allowed Ellen Marshall to pursue a New Jersey RICO claim against the lawyers but dismissed a…

Oct 10, 2007 10:38 AM CDT

Pro Bono Team Attacks Exec’s Prosecution

A team of pro bono attorneys from four different firms has taken up the cause of a convicted Dynegy Inc. executive and filed a habeas corpus petition seeking his release from prison. By pressuring Dynegy, under threat of prosecution, to renege on its promise of paying defense costs, the federal…

Oct 8, 2007 9:16 PM CDT

TX Law Firm Dodges $1.4 M Emotional Distress Award

The Law Offices of Windle Turley saw the tables turned when an ex-client won a $1.4 million judgment for emotional distress after the firm sued him for legal fees. Now a Texas judge has set aside the verdict, Texas Lawyer reports. The law firm had sued ex-client Robert French to…

Oct 8, 2007 12:24 PM CDT

Legal Fees Could Dive in M&A Downturn

Lawyers at firms specializing in mergers and acquisitions fear premium law-firm billing will dry up along with the M&A work that included such fees. Such billing—essentially a tip for a job well done—helped law firms reap record profits, the New York Times reports in an article by David Lat, author…

Oct 3, 2007 1:11 PM CDT

Five Firms in Attorney Fee Free-for-All

After fighting together to win a settlement in a class action over mortgage lender closing costs, a group of Illinois plaintiffs lawyers squared off for a new battle—fighting with each other about how to divide the $1.6 million attorney fee. It appears that a badly drafted attorney fee letter agreement…

Sep 27, 2007 9:23 PM CDT

Judge: Gov’t Lied, Must Pay Attorney Fees

In more than 30 years of practice, New Hampshire lawyer Steve Gordon says he’s never before tried to get a judge to award attorney fees against the federal government due to bad faith. But that’s the approach that he’s taken—successfully—in a tort case over a murdered government informant whose identity…

Sep 21, 2007 6:26 PM CDT

Tax Lawyer Sued for $17 M Over Claimed Dual Role

An unsuccessful horse-breeding investment by wealthy clients has put a Portland, Ore., tax attorney in the hot seat. He and his law firm reportedly are being sued for at least $17 million by two former clients over his alleged dual role in receiving a commission for promoting the venture while…

Sep 20, 2007 12:31 AM CDT

Court to Parents: No Tough Love, No Cars

A lack of tough love has cost two Washington state parents their cars. Because they didn’t act quickly enough to snatch back their car keys from a son who apparently was using their vehicles to deal drugs, according to authorities, they were properly seized by the government under drug-forfeiture laws…

Sep 19, 2007 11:48 PM CDT

Fee Cap Crippling Defense, Lawyer Says

Lawyers for alleged Atlanta courthouse gunman Brian Nichols told a judge that disputes over their state-paid legal fees are crippling the defense team. Lead defense lawyer Henderson Hill said the state intends to pay only about a third the estimated fees and costs of the defense, according to the Fulton…

Sep 19, 2007 2:12 PM CDT

Possible O.J. Legal Fee is Half a Million

If O.J. Simpson hires a Las Vegas lawyer to defend him on armed robbery charges, he’ll likely have to pony up about $500,000. That’s the going rate in the city, according to one lawyer, the New York Post reports in a story that relies on wire reports. “Hopefully, he has…

Sep 18, 2007 1:51 PM CDT

New Firm Resolves ‘Sunday Stomach’

Kevin Broyles once wanted to be a partner at a big-name law firm. But today he counts himself lucky to be able to leave his law office in time to coach Pee Wee football at 6:30 p.m. “It’s a matter of getting your priorities in order,” Broyles, 36, tells the…

Sep 17, 2007 11:05 PM CDT

Fuss Over Firm’s $1.8 M ‘Pro Bono’ Fee

A major Seattle-based law firm’s effort to collect $1.8 million from taxpayers in a pro bono case has ignited a firestorm of controversy. As provided for by statute, Davis Wright Tremaine wants to collect for seven years of work for a prevailing plaintiff in a reverse-race-discrimination case that went to…

Sep 17, 2007 9:35 PM CDT

Judge Slashes Fees Using Contingency Standard

A federal judge has rejected an attorney’s fee request that would have consumed nearly two-thirds of a $100,000 settlement for a man wrongly accused in a drug case. Judge David Hurd of Utica, N.Y., slashed fees from $63,000 to $29,000, the New York Law Journal reports. The lawyer and his…

Sep 14, 2007 1:21 PM CDT