Judge Scrutinizes Legal Fees in Ponzi Case; Lawyers Have Received More Than Victims, So Far

Amid concern that lawyers have so far collected more than triple the amount paid to victims, an appellate judge has limited several firms’ fee awards for work on the receivership case connected to WexTrust Capital. And it’s not the first time he’s spoken out on the issue. Judge Denny Chin…

Aug 26, 2011 8:25 PM CDT

Why It’s a Mistake to Be the Cheapest Lawyer in Town

Are you the cheapest lawyer in town? If so, you are making a top business mistake, according to a law practice management expert. Discounting fees to bring in more business leads to dissatisfaction for both the lawyer and the client, according to Illinois solo practitioner Timothy Storm, an adjunct law…

Aug 26, 2011 3:21 PM CDT

Lawyer Gets 1-Year Suspension for Taking Client’s Cars, Money and Browns Tickets, Plus Bogus Billing

Rejecting an agreed one-year law license suspension, with six months stayed, the Ohio Supreme Court has put a attorney on the sidelines for two years, with 12 months of that penalty stayed, for a litany of misconduct that displayed “a selfish indifference to his professional obligations” to a client in…

Aug 25, 2011 9:00 PM CDT

Spouse of Plaintiff Can Collect Attorney Fees in Civil Rights Case, 9th Circuit Rules

Although the nation’s top court says lawyers can’t collect attorney fees for representing themselves in civil rights cases, that blanket prohibition doesn’t apply to an attorney who serves as a spouse’s legal counsel, a federal appeals court has ruled. Reversing the trial judge in the Central District of California case,…

Aug 23, 2011 9:10 PM CDT

PI Jailed for Phone Hacking Sues News Corp., Says UK Tabloid Reneged on Promised Legal Fees Payment

A private investigator at the center of the ongoing international probes over alleged widespread phone hacking by a British tabloid of celebrities, crime victims and others has sued the newspaper’s United States-based parent company, News Corp. Glenn Mulcaire alleges in a lawsuit he filed Wednesday in the U.K.’s High Court…

Aug 19, 2011 1:42 PM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: Snitching Suffers a Blow; Lawyer’s Name-Your-Own-Price Experiment

Taking on Jailhouse Snitches and Confidential Informants The anonymous blogger “Gideon” at a public defender and Loyola Law School Los Angeles law professor Alexandra Natapoff at Snitching Blog both noted a bill signed by California Gov. Jerry Brown that requires testimony by witnesses in prison or police custody to be…

Aug 5, 2011 1:52 PM CDT

Mattel Ordered to Pay $225M in Punitives, Attorney’s Fees and Costs in Bratz Doll Case

A federal judge in Santa Ana, Calif., today nearly trebled the $88 million that Mattel Inc. was earlier ordered to pay a competitor in a hard-fought case over the rights to the popular Bratz doll line. Mattel must pay MGA Entertainment Inc. $85 million in punitive damages and $2.5 million…

Aug 5, 2011 12:55 AM CDT

Mississippi Auditor Wants Attorney General to Pay Outside Lawyers with Appropriation

Mississippi’s auditor is challenging the state attorney general’s practice of paying outside lawyers directly from litigation. Republican State Auditor Stacy Pickering wants the Mississippi Supreme Court to declare that all funds collected from lawsuits should be turned over to the legislature before paying private counsel, the Associated Press reports. Rather…

Aug 4, 2011 1:25 PM CDT

BigLaw Chafes at Online Reverse Auctions, Increasingly Used by Corporations to Cut Legal Bills

Large law firms are increasingly being asked to participate in online reverse auctions where corporations award business to the lowest bidder. The process is spreading to more complex projects, raising concerns among some lawyers, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Among the companies that pit law firms against each…

Aug 2, 2011 11:16 AM CDT

Questions Asked About Source of Funds Used by Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to Pay 4 Law Firms

A new issue has been raised in the aftermath of a hard-fought political battle between the former Maricopa, Ariz., county attorney Andrew Thomas and the county’s board of supervisors. Some $127,000 in funds seized as a result of criminal investigations were used to pay law firms representing the county attorney’s…

Aug 1, 2011 9:32 PM CDT

Changing Times: Fee Agreements May Be Modified, But Only for Good Reasons

Aug 1, 2011 6:50 AM CDT

Hired Gun: Making Full-Time Work Out of Bits and Pieces

Aug 1, 2011 6:30 AM CDT

Jenner Charged $1M to Fight Violent Video Game Law in Supreme Court, Fee Request Says

Jenner & Block charged more than $1 million to successfully challenge California’s violent video game law in the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a fee request. The petition (PDF) asks California to pay $1.14 million in legal fees and expenses for the Supreme Court appeal, including nearly $1.03 million in…

Jul 26, 2011 11:31 AM CDT

Defense Seeks Reversal of $10.6M Death Award, Says Lawyer Didn’t Disclose ‘Stink Bomb’ Email

A $10.6 million award in what may be Virginia’s biggest wrongful death case is being challenged based on a prominent plaintiff lawyer’s claimed failure to disclose what the defense says he called a “stink bomb” email, among other information. On July 5, defense attorneys for Allied Concrete Co. and William…

Jul 22, 2011 12:23 PM CDT

M&A Class Actions Jump 847% in 2 Years; ‘Fee Hungry’ Law Firms Blamed

In the last two years, there has been a huge spike in class action lawsuits claiming investors weren’t fairly compensated in corporate mergers and buyouts. Last year, there were 341 M&A suits filed, a jump of 78.5 percent from 2009 and 847 percent from 2008, Fox News reports, citing statistics…

Jul 13, 2011 1:48 PM CDT