Business Development

Lawsuit accuses Morrison & Foerster of a ‘billing feeding frenzy’

Updated: A Valentine’s Day lawsuit accuses Morrison & Foerster of “egregious overbilling” after it was hired last May to help wind down several companies. The Buzbee Law Firm in Houston filed the federal suit in Austin on behalf of five companies that are dissatisfied with Morrison & Foerster’s billing practices.…

Feb 20, 2019 12:05 PM CST

Michael Avenatti agrees to place law firm in receivership after former partner claims he hid money

Lawyer Michael Avenatti, who’s probably best known for representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels, has agreed to place his onetime law firm in receivership after a former partner alleged in court papers that he had hidden millions of dollars from the bankruptcy court. U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen E. Scott of…

Feb 15, 2019 3:23 PM CST

Judge in Yahoo data breach case criticizes ‘unreasonably high’ attorney fees

A federal judge in San Jose, California, on Monday refused to approve a class action settlement in litigation over a series of Yahoo data breaches, citing a lack of transparency and the possibility of “unreasonably high” attorney fees. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh cited several problems with the proposed settlement,…

Jan 30, 2019 1:46 PM CST

Lawyer says dispute over $300 in unpaid wages cost him about $100,000

A Southern California lawyer says he’s giving up the fight after a dispute regarding a former employee’s claim for about $300 in unpaid wages cost him about $100,000. The lawyer, Thomas Beck, told the Recorder that he won’t seek further review after an appeals court decision last week requiring him…

Jan 10, 2019 11:24 AM CST

Stormy Daniels ordered to pay nearly $300K in attorney fees to Trump under anti-SLAPP law

Adult film actress Stormy Daniels was ordered on Tuesday to pay $292,000 in attorney fees and costs, along with a $1,000 sanction, for filing a tossed defamation suit against President Donald Trump. U.S. District Judge James Otero ordered payment under the Texas Citizens Participation Act, an anti-SLAPP law in Daniels’…

Dec 12, 2018 9:22 AM CST

Objector lawyers committed ‘fraud on the court’; says Illinois appeals court

Updated: A law firm that claimed professional objectors were extorting fees in class action lawsuits will be able to introduce evidence supporting the allegation as a result of an Illinois appeals court decision. The First District Appellate Court of Illinois ruled for the Edelson law firm and also sent a…

Dec 4, 2018 9:48 AM CST

Other People’s Money: Rise of litigation finance companies raises legal and ethical concerns

Litigation financing is third-party funding of legal cases. Legal financing companies provide a nonrecourse cash advance to litigants—usually plaintiffs—in exchange for a percentage of the judgment or settlement. It is not considered a loan but rather a form of asset purchase or venture capital.

Dec 1, 2018 12:05 AM CST

Lawyers are generally free to represent clients paying with crowdfunding, DC bar ethics opinion says

Lawyers are generally free to represent clients who use crowdfunding to pay for representation, although the ethical implications vary based on the lawyer’s level of involvement, according to a new ethics opinion. When the client directs the crowdfunding and the lawyer is merely aware of it, the lawyer incurs no…

Nov 28, 2018 12:28 PM CST

Does your client need fee financing? New ABA ethics opinion provides guidance

Lawyers may refer clients to fee financing companies even if they own a financial interest in the lender or broker, according to a new Formal Opinion from the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility.

Nov 27, 2018 9:55 AM CST

Labaton Sucharow agrees to return $4.8M in attorney fees after attorney finder fee is revealed

Labaton Sucharow has agreed to return $4.8 million in attorney fees to plaintiffs and other law firms in a securities class action against State Street Corp. The payment resolves allegations of double billing and a failure to disclose a $4.1 million finder fee to a lawyer who helped introduce Labaton…

Oct 11, 2018 10:14 AM CDT

Lawyer in Arkansas same-sex marriage case sues co-counsel, says he denigrated her work

A lawyer who successfully sought to overturn Arkansas’ gay-marriage ban has filed a defamation suit against her co-counsel that argues he denigrated her work and wrongly accused her of inflating her work hours.

Oct 11, 2018 9:00 AM CDT

Former law firm of disbarred lawyer Stan Chesley agrees to pay $19M for fee overcharges

A dissolved Ohio law firm once owned by mass-torts lawyer Stanley Chesley has agreed to pay fen-phen diet-drug litigants $19.1 million to resolve their unjust enrichment claims stemming from attorney fee overcharges in the mass-tort case. The agreed judgment signed Oct. 3 by U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland is part…

Oct 9, 2018 3:15 PM CDT

‘Outrageously excessive’ requests for attorney fees can be altogether denied, 3rd Circuit says

A federal appeals court has upheld a federal judge’s decision to deny as “grossly excessive” a request for more than $900,000 in attorney fees based on a $100,000 punitive award. When a request under a fee-shifting statute is “outrageously excessive,” a judge may deny the award altogether if the statute…

Sep 17, 2018 6:05 AM CDT

GoFundMe page raises cash for Michael Cohen’s legal fees, despite Lanny Davis blunder

A GoFundMe page for Michael Cohen’s legal fees had raised more than $135,000 by Thursday morning even though Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, gave an incorrect domain name in early television interviews that led people to a website for President Donald Trump. The GoFundMe page is labeled Michael Cohen Truth Fund,…

Aug 23, 2018 8:10 AM CDT

Judge is ‘almost haunted’ by Greenberg Traurig fee request, says it’s not ‘mere Monopoly money’

A judge in Manhattan has rejected a $464,000 fee request by Greenberg Traurig in an opinion that faulted the law firm for “gold plated lawyering” in a relatively straightforward case.

Jul 19, 2018 7:05 AM CDT