Business Development

Special prosecutor wins hard-fought $100K legal bill battle, plus ruling he won’t have to itemize

Forced to use a court-appointed special prosecutor after the Rensselaer County, N.Y., district attorney stepped aside from a ballot fraud case against local politicians, county lawmakers weren’t happy with the bill that resulted. But they are apparently going to have to pay the remaining $100,000 or so that is due…

Apr 10, 2013 5:04 PM CDT

More lawyers charge $1,150 an hour, but ‘sticker price’ discounts hit collection rates

Attorney billing rates are higher this year, but the amount collected by law firms, when compared to standard rates, is at a historic low. Chalk it up to clients unwilling to pay full price, says legal consultant Ward Bower of Altman Weil. Think of hourly fees “as the equivalent of…

Apr 10, 2013 1:46 PM CDT

Did man’s frog phobia help him win $1.6 million verdict in land-runoff case?

Nobody knows for sure how much Paul Marinaccio’s testimony about his frog phobia may have upped the ante in a $1.6 million jury award over a land runoff case. However, the 65-year-old’s detailed explanation of how “petrified” he is by the small creatures now proliferating on his property wasn’t enough…

Apr 9, 2013 5:30 PM CDT

‘Divorce from hell’ began with $5,400 monthly alimony offer, ended with $1,500 installments

A month after their 2008 divorce case was filed in Pinellas County, Fla., Terry Power offered to pay his wife of nearly 20 years $5,400 per month in alimony until he retired, and $50,000 in cash. He also was willing to give Murielle Marie Helene Fournier half of the contents…

Apr 8, 2013 4:37 PM CDT

Judge nixes attorney fees for lawyer in oil spill case, says client’s signature on doc was forged

Saying that he believes a plaintiff’s signature on a legal representation document concerning the Gulf of Mexico oil spill was forged, a federal judge in New Orleans nixed attorney fees for a Texas lawyer. Attorney Brent Coon had sought a 25 percent share of an undisclosed settlement his claimed client,…

Apr 5, 2013 5:25 PM CDT

Animal rights groups to pay attorney fees after losing suit against Ringling Bros. producer

Animal rights groups that sued the producer of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will have to pay attorney fees, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan of Washington, D.C., did not yet decide how much is owed, the National Law Journal reports. The circus…

Apr 2, 2013 4:46 PM CDT

Expert in legal-fee fight blasts ‘make believe’ game over cost of contract lawyers to do doc review

Even in the New York metropolitan area, the reasonable cost of hiring a contract lawyer from a staffing agency to do document review work in a securities class action case is, at most, $50 to $75 an hour, an expert said in a declaration (PDF) filed last month in federal…

Apr 1, 2013 5:38 PM CDT

‘Churn that bill, baby’ email highlights unfortunate billable hour system, ex-BigLaw partner says

Embarrassing emails that surfaced in a client’s fee dispute with DLA Piper illustrate the deeper problems wrought by the billable hour system, according to a former BigLaw partner. One email, for example, noted that a DLA lawyer had “random people” doing research on a bankruptcy matter “in standard ‘churn that…

Mar 29, 2013 4:25 PM CDT

$838K murder defense bill in Arias case pits public right to know against attorney-client privilege

So far, the taxpayers of Maricopa County, Ariz., have spent over $838,000 to defend Jodi Arias in a high-profile capital murder case and they likely will be on the hook for over $1 million by the time the legal battle concludes. Under state law, the public has a right to…

Mar 28, 2013 9:38 PM CDT

Baker Botts gets another $5.2M in litgation over $142M fee award in $6B bankruptcy case

After years of litigation, Baker Botts was awarded another $5.2 million in legal fees on Tuesday for defending its earlier $142 million fee award for representing a copper mining operation in a bankruptcy case. The law firm’s representation of Asarco LLC was part of a long-running legal battle that began…

Mar 28, 2013 6:13 PM CDT

DLA Piper: ‘Churn that bill’ email was ‘inexcusable effort at humor’

DLA Piper has responded after widespread coverage of a client-billing dispute that revealed an embarrassing email exchange between lawyers apparently joking about a client’s bill. In a statement, the firm said, “We hold ourselves to the highest legal and ethical standards. The behavior as described is unacceptable to DLA Piper…

Mar 27, 2013 10:00 PM CDT

As trial looms for ex-DA accused in RICO enterprise case, feds make new accusations

Federally indicted on corruption charges while he was still the sitting district attorney in Cameron County, Texas, a now-former prosecutor faces new allegations in a case in which he is accused of running his office as a racketeering enterprise. The case is allegedly part of a wider cash-for-court-favors and graft…

Mar 27, 2013 5:15 PM CDT

Kasowitz bid for $7M success fee in ex-client’s ATM litigation is nixed by top NY court

An effort by a New York law firm to obtain a $7 million success fee from a former client got a final kibosh Tuesday from the state’s top court. In a brief ruling (PDF), the New York Court of Appeals declined to hear a challenge by Kasowitz Benson Torres &…

Mar 26, 2013 5:30 PM CDT

Ordered to pay $67K in legal fees, lawyer calls 9th Circuit’s sanction ‘a badge of honor’

Ordered by a federal appeals court to pay $67,495 in legal fees to the companies involved in an airline merger he contested on antitrust grounds, a longtime San Francisco lawyer says he will have to pay the money of his own pocket. But Joseph Alioto said the sanction by the…

Mar 26, 2013 3:28 PM CDT

Attorney and law firm must pay $67K in legal fees for ‘vexatious’ suit challenging airline merger

In an unusual move, a federal appeals court has sanctioned a prominent San Francisco plaintiffs law firm and its name partner by ordering reimbursement of $67,495 in opponent legal fees for pursuing what opponents called “unreasonable and vexatious” litigation over an airline merger. Joseph Alioto and the Alioto Law Firm…

Mar 25, 2013 5:53 PM CDT