Business Development

Study: Associates, Southern Cities Had Highest Increases in Billing Rates

Billing rates charged to large companies have increased at a faster pace for associates than for partners, according to a billing-rate study being released today. Associate billing rates increased by 16.6 percent between 2007 and 2009, while partner rates rose 8.6 percent, according to a press release and the Am…

Sep 7, 2010 3:39 PM CDT

Madoff Clients Balk at Trustee’s $34M Tab

Former investment clients of Bernard Madoff are challenging the $34 million bill submitted by his bankruptcy trustee, Baker Hostetler partner Irving Picard. The August 20 statement bills for services between Feb. 1 and May 31, according to the New York Post. According to Madoff investors, who made the Manhattan Bankruptcy…

Sep 3, 2010 2:26 PM CDT

Are Alternative Fees Fizzling? Bloggers Offer Contrarian View

The firestorm over alternative fees has produced more smoke than fire, according to a Canadian legal consultant. Writing at his blog Rants & Raves, consultant Patrick McKenna recalls his own unsuccessful attempt to interest general counsel in alternative fees while representing an AmLaw-listed, regional law firm of more than 500…

Sep 3, 2010 1:31 PM CDT

Sell Championship Ring to Pay $130K Legal Bill, Judge Tells Ex-Rams Player

Although he played professional football for more than a decade and earned a championship ring when the St. Louis Rams went to the Super Bowl in 2001, Chidi Ahanotu says his only income today is about $40,000 a year in disability income. But he could soon be getting free room…

Sep 2, 2010 11:00 PM CDT

Judge Rules Plaintiffs Lawyers Can’t Charge 9/11 Clients $6.1M in Interest

A federal judge in New York City is refusing to allow plaintiffs lawyers to collect $6.1 million in interest from ground zero clients to pay the interest on money borrowed to finance the litigation. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said the lawyers could make $150 million in fees in the…

Aug 30, 2010 12:52 PM CDT

Lawyers for 9/11 Workers Ordered to Justify Charging Clients $6.1M for Loan Interest

While much of the actual, 9/11 physical dust that harmed ground zero workers has settled, the dustup over lawyer fees and costs is growing—including some high-stakes finger pointing between two plaintiffs firms. A federal judge handling the matters concerning injured workers called two firms who have formed a partnership—Worby Groner…

Aug 27, 2010 4:31 PM CDT

$1.6M Award Upheld for Lawyer Who Sued His Firm for Fees

A Minnesota appeals court has upheld a $1.6 million award to a Minneapolis lawyer who sued his former law firm for a bigger cut of the fees in a securities class action against AOL Time Warner. The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld the award for lawyer Brian Williams, but ruled…

Aug 26, 2010 2:12 PM CDT

Does $100M D&O Policy Require Lloyd’s to Pay Stanford’s Legal Bills? Federal Judge Will Decide

Jailed Texas financier R. Allen Stanford and three of his company’s former executives have racked up millions in legal bills as they defend themselves against accusations that they participated in a $7 billion Ponzi scheme. So far, Lloyd’s of London has paid their criminal defense fees. But the famed insurer…

Aug 25, 2010 7:28 PM CDT

Ohio Lawyer Suspended for Billing More than 24 Hours in a Day

An Ohio lawyer has been suspended for overbilling local courts for her representation of poor clients, submitting bills for more than 24 hours a day on three different occasions. The lawyer, Kristin Ann Stahlbush of Toledo, will be suspended for two years, with the second year stayed if she completes…

Aug 25, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Are Clients Squeezing BigLaw into Small Law?

Partners leaving big firms to go out on their own isn’t new, but it seems to be picking up. A growing reason is that clients have become more careful about spending. And lawyers can lower their rates after leaving BigLaw. Clients have clamored in recent years for reduced rates, fewer…

Aug 20, 2010 7:04 PM CDT

Hijacking Victims Sue Crowell & Moring Over Fees, Distribution of Awards

Crowell & Moring is facing another lawsuit over its handling of settlement money and its contingency fee award in its representation of victims of the 1986 hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Pakistan. Courthouse News Service and the National Law Journal report on the latest suit filed against the…

Aug 17, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Lawyer Who Took Obstruction Plea in Med Mal Kickbacks Case Is Suspended

A Las Vegas lawyer who pleaded guilty to obstruction earlier this year concerning an alleged medical malpractice case kickbacks scheme has been temporarily suspended by the Nevada Supreme Court. Further attorney discipline proceedings will determine an appropriate sanction for Noel Gage, 72, who had been accused of participating in an…

Aug 5, 2010 9:01 PM CDT

Law Firm’s New Fee Scheme Includes Billings Tied to Price of Oil for an Energy Client

Can this be the future of BigLaw billing practices? A major law firm based in the United Kingdom has unveiled new fixed-fee arrangements it is suggesting to some 3,500 clients. Innovation is the name of the game. For example, CMS Cameron McKenna is offering an oil client a capped fee…

Aug 5, 2010 8:17 PM CDT

Video Game CEO Balks at $1M Legal Bill, But Appeals Court Says He Has to Pay

When dealing with a sexual harassment suit, an executive of a video game giant allegedly said he wanted to spend to defend rather than settle with the plaintiff for $200,000 to $400,000. But when it came time to pay his attorney’s nearly seven-figure legal bill, Bobby Kotick of Activision Blizzard…

Aug 4, 2010 4:22 PM CDT

$215M Suit Says Grant & Eisenhofer Hid Agreement and Took Excessive Fee from Clients

An investor in Tyco International Ltd. has turned the tables on Grant & Eisenhofer, contending in a malpractice lawsuit seeking class action status that the plaintiffs securities law firm concealed a fee agreement with the lead plaintiff in an earlier case and took an excessive payout from its own clients.…

Aug 3, 2010 11:11 PM CDT