Business Development

BigLaw Bankruptcy Lawyers Opposing Fee Transparency Are ‘Out of Touch,’ Editorial Says

Proposed rules requiring more scrutiny of attorney fees in large bankruptcy cases are drawing opposition from large law firms. Lawyers “responded with hostility” to the proposals at a Justice Department meeting last week, Reuters reported. The proposals by the DOJ’s U.S. Trustee Program would require lawyers to disclose billing rates…

Jun 13, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

Bankruptcy Filing Shows Gibson Dunn Superstar Makes $1,800 an Hour

A partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher who challenged a California initiative banning gay marriages is back in the limelight, this time for his pricey fees. Bankruptcy filings reveal that former Solicitor General Ted Olson charges $1,800 an hour, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports. It’s the highest rate…

Jun 7, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

Chamber of Commerce Takes Aim at Charitable Awards of Unclaimed Class-Action Funds

Cy pres awards in class actions—in which unclaimed settlement funds are awarded to charities—help pump up fees for the plaintiffs’ lawyers, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform. Testifying in a congressional hearing last week, John Beisner of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom explained the…

Jun 6, 2012 11:26 AM CDT

Hughes Hubbard Seeks Court OK of Bill for First 4 Months of MF Global Bankruptcy: $17 Million

With trustee James Giddens at the helm, Hughes Hubbard & Reed has submitted its bill for the first four months of its work on the MF Global Inc. bankruptcy—$17 million. It must be approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan before it is paid, Reutersreports. The bill covers the…

Jun 5, 2012 1:42 PM CDT

Maine Lawyers Who Represent Indigent Defendants Will Have to Wait for $50-an-Hour Pay

Lawyers who are assigned to represent criminal defendants in Maine won’t be paid during the month of June because the Indigent Legal Defense Commission has run out of money. Lawyers will get paid in July when the new fiscal year begins, the Bangor Daily News reports. Bangor lawyer Aaron Frey,…

May 30, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

Judge and 2 Court-Appointed Lawyers Sued Over Alleged Conspiracy to Loot Rosa Parks Estate

In the latest salvo in an onoing dispute over the estate of civil rights icon Rosa Parks, an attorney for a foundation that was to benefit from her will has sued a Michigan probate judge and two court-appointed attorneys, contending that they conspired to loot her estate. The unusual filing…

May 17, 2012 4:06 PM CDT

Dog Custody Battle Racks Up $60K in Attorney’s Fees

A 34-year-old New York City man who says he considers his dog his son has spent over $60,000 so far on legal fees fighting his ex-girlfriend in a cross-country court battle for custody of a puggle named Knuckles. Craig Dershowitz says he has gone through his life savings in a…

May 14, 2012 3:33 PM CDT

After Hectic Week at Dewey, Focus Turns to Unpaid $9.6M Bill of Partner’s Brother

Former Dewey & LeBoeuf chairman Steven Davis isn’t the only partner at the troubled law firm subject to some finger-pointing. Some Davis supporters are telling the Am Law Daily (reg. req.) about an unpaid legal bill racked up by the late brother of former Dewey vice chairman Morton Pierce. Pierce’s…

May 7, 2012 12:44 PM CDT

Lawyer Is Charged with Stealing from Law Firm He Founded

A Tennessee lawyer has been charged with stealing from his Knoxville law firm in an indictment made public on Thursday. Charles Edward “Eddie” Daniel was charged with theft and forgery, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. He is accused of taking money that belonged to his firm, Daniel, Pemberton, Scott &…

Apr 27, 2012 2:53 PM CDT

NJ Judge OKs AG’s Plan to Subpoena Legal Fee Info re 20 Mob Case Defendants, Nixes Privilege Claim

A New Jersey judge has approved a plan by the state attorney general to subpoena legal-fee information concerning 20 of 34 defendants indicted in 2010 on charges they participated in a claimed $2.2 billion international gambling ring operated by an organized crime family. Although defense lawyers argued that attorney-client privilege…

Apr 24, 2012 6:34 PM CDT

Lead Counsel in OJ Simpson Case Sues 3 Lawyers for Claimed Slander in Legal Fee Dispute

An out-of-state lawyer heading O.J. Simpson’s defense team in a 2008 armed robbery trial in Nevada that ended with the former football great’s conviction has fired back in a legal fee dispute with local counsel. Miami attorney Yale Galanter of sued three attorneys for slander in a suit filed Thursday…

Apr 20, 2012 3:50 PM CDT

How Can You Make Sure Your Client Pays You What You’re Owed?

ABA Journal business of law reporter Rachel M. Zahorsky discusses this topic with Beazley’s Brant Weidner, along with key points for lawyers to contemplate when weighing the risks and rewards of a fee suit and ways to prevent the predicament altogether.

Apr 16, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Lawyer Suspended 30 Days for $2,500 Minimum Fee Charge

A retired Iowa lawyer has received a 30 day suspension for charging a $2,500 nonrefundable retainer, even though he spent less than four hours of work on the case. The Iowa Supreme Court imposed the suspension on Friday against retired Clinton lawyer William Vilmont, report the Quad-City Times and the…

Apr 9, 2012 2:19 PM CDT

Federal Judge Socks Minn. Lawyer with $50K Sanction, Plus Opponent Attorney’s Fees

A Minneapolis lawyer has been socked by a federal judge with a $50,000 sanction, for what the jurist describes as an illegitimate business model based on repeated frivolous filings, delay and forum-shopping. William Butler’s conduct required a substantial sanction, wrote U.S. District Court Judge Patrick Schiltz, because “he has not…

Apr 5, 2012 8:57 PM CDT

Inmates Will Get $153K, Lawyers Have Earned Nearly $1.6M as 9-Year-Old Chicago Jail Suit Settles

After nine years of legal battle, the Cook County Board has agreed to settle for $1 million a lawsuit over a since-amended weekend lockdown policy at its Chicago jail. The bulk of the money, $850,000, will go to the lawyer who represented four female inmates in the suit, which they…

Apr 4, 2012 5:56 PM CDT