Law Firms
Suit Claims WilmerHale ‘Churned’ Representation of CFO to Inflate Fees
Posted Jul 22, 2008, 05:46 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
McAfee Inc. claims WilmerHale “churned the representation” of its former chief financial officer, costing $12 million in legal fees.
The lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Texas earlier this year accuses the law firm of fraud, theft, negligence and breach of fiduciary duty, the Recorder reports.
WilmerHale “intentionally overworked and churned the representation of [former CFO Prabhat] Goyal; shamelessly employing over 100 WilmerHale timekeepers in the feeding frenzy," the suit alleges. "Defendant's bills reflect at least 16 partners, 34 associate attorneys, 10 legal assistants and 49 staff personnel--how else could they amass this enormous trove of cash?"
The suit also claims lawyers who traveled to San Francisco to represent Goyal at trial charged almost $200,000 in expenses for luxury hotel rooms, limousines, room service and alcohol, the story says.
A statement issued by WilmerHale says the suit is only a pretext to avoid paying the legal fees of Goyal, and its legal services were necessary and reasonable. Its motion seeking dismissal of the complaint notes the law firm had to produce and review 1.2 million documents in the case.
Houston lawyer Paul Yetter, who represents WilmerHale in the case, told the Recorder that more than 80 percent of the work in the case was done by two lead partners and a handful of associates. The other timekeepers were needed for document review.
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