Business Development

Lawyer’s fee request felt ‘like an attempted bank robbery,’ federal judge says

For the second time in less than two weeks, a federal judge from the Middle District of Pennsylvania has excoriated a lawyer for a large fee request following a small recovery.

Sep 12, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Judge denies ‘exorbitant’ request for nearly $1M in attorney fees after $125K recovery

A federal judge in Pennsylvania has denied a request for nearly $1 million in attorney fees and promised to refer the lawyers who sought the money to ethics regulators. U.S. District Judge Malachy Mannion of Scranton deemed the fee request “astounding,” “exorbitant” and “woefully deficient.” He criticized claims for various…

Sep 5, 2017 7:45 AM CDT

Subway foot-long settlement ‘utterly worthless’ to customers, 7th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has tossed an injunctive settlement in nine consolidated lawsuits that contended some Subway sandwiches fell short of the touted foot-long length.

Aug 30, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

New Texas law, taking effect in September, could affect some homeowners filing Harvey claims

A Texas law that takes effect on Sept. 1 could affect some homeowners filing claims with their insurance companies in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

Aug 29, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Sisters whose vehicle was hit at Charlottesville rally file $3 million lawsuit

Two sisters who claim they were injured in their vehicle when a car plowed into a group of counterprotesters during Saturday’s violence at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia have filed a $3 million lawsuit. Defendants named in 27-year-old Tadrint Washington’s and 20-year-old Micah Washington’s state court suit include driver James…

Aug 17, 2017 5:00 PM CDT

General counsel will share data on their law firms; is it cause for BigLaw concern?

General counsel at more than 25 major companies plan to share data on their law firms in an effort to learn whether firm size and practices, such as value billing, have any effect on satisfaction and results.

Jul 14, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Malpractice suit alleges overbilling and ‘egregious misconduct’ by Trump’s law firm Kasowitz

A former client has filed a malpractice suit against Kasowitz Benson Torres that claims the law firm overbilled for its services, even recording 24 hours of service by one biller in a single day. Patriot National Inc., which offers back-office services for insurance companies, filed the June 30 suit (PDF)…

Jul 12, 2017 9:38 AM CDT

Oklahoma unintentionally adopts loser-pays system for attorney fees in civil cases

Oklahoma has adopted a loser-pays system for attorney fees and costs in civil cases, but not intentionally. Gov. Mary Fallin recently signed the bill into law, report the Tulsa World, NewsOK and KFOR-TV of Oklahoma City. The loser-pays requirement was an amendment to a bill giving victims of child sexual…

May 18, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Not competent in basic tech? You could be overbilling your clients—and be on shaky ethical ground

No part of legal work is unaffected by the duty of competency. And now that’s true for the duty of technology competence, too. It requires lawyers to be competent in every tech tool that we use to serve our clients, not just fancy data security tools, but regular tools like…

May 15, 2017 8:21 AM CDT

Bankruptcy judge slams Weil Gotshal for ‘distinct lack of billing judgment’

A federal bankruptcy judge in Des Moines, Iowa, has slammed an attorney fee application by Weil Gotshal & Manges and reduced the law firm’s $1 million request by about half. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Anita Shodeen ruled Monday on Weil’s legal fee request in the bankruptcy of aerospace-parts manufacturer Wellman Dynamics…

May 12, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Sedgwick partner settles equal-pay suit

A nonequity partner who sued Sedgwick over an alleged “male-dominated culture” that denies women equal pay has reached a confidential settlement with the law firm. Traci Ribeiro, a 46-year-old lawyer who worked in the San Francisco-based firm’s Chicago office, settled the suit in arbitration in April, the New York Times…

May 8, 2017 11:00 AM CDT

Court-appointed lawyers in Maine will have to wait for payment because of budget shortfall

Court-appointed lawyers for indigent defendants in Maine won’t get paid until July 1 because the state budget to pay them has been depleted. The state legislature had appropriated $2.9 million less than the amount requested for indigent defense, then did not provide supplemental funding, the Portland Press Herald reports. Maine…

May 5, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Supreme Court overturns $2.7M sanction for discovery misconduct

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a $2.7 million sanction for discovery misconduct, saying a district court erred by including legal fees beyond those resulting from the misconduct.

Apr 18, 2017 9:22 AM CDT

Red-flag billing practices chronicled; report finds ‘upbilling’ by 21 percent of law firms

Twenty-one percent of lawyers “upbilled” for their time in 2015, rounding up their hours worked to the next hour or half hour, according to an analysis of legal invoices from about 100 companies.

Mar 28, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Law firm reveals contract lawyer was actually disbarred; he had billed 6,900 hours in Sprint suit

A Pennsylvania law firm has suffered a second blow in a shareholder suit after a Kansas judge slashed its fee request from $4.25 million to $450,000. The Weiser Law Firm revealed in a February letter to the judge that it had learned a contract lawyer responsible for more than a…

Mar 15, 2017 7:00 AM CDT