http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-18T18:32:11-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/with_1b_fee_unpaid_plaintiff_lawyer_in_18b_enviro_case_is_now_pro_se_agains/ Attorney Steven Donziger could earn $1 billion, his opposing counsel says, if an $18 billion foreign judgment against Chevron Corp. concerning environmental damage in Ecuador is upheld. Meanwhile, Donziger is unable to afford to pay his own counsel as Chevron continues with a bruising U.S. district court counterattack against the… Appellate Practice, Corporate Law, Environmental Law, International Law, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Evidence, Verdicts & Settlements, 2nd Circuit Court, International Courts/Tribunals, International, South America, States, New York Mon, 06 May 2013 15:15:43 -0500 44049.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law_firms_latest_bill_for_madoff_liquidation_is_50m_bringing_total_since_hi/ Since December 2008, when Bernard Madoff was arrested in a record-breaking Ponzi scheme operated under the guise of an investment firm, Irving Picard and his law firm have been handling the liquidation for the Securities Investor Protection Corp. A filing in federal court in Manhattan shows the latest bill from… Bankruptcy Law, Securities Law, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, 2nd Circuit Court, States, New York Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:47:12 -0500 43970.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/plan_to_have_kaye_scholer_give_up_1.5m_in_fees_to_settle_disclosure_case_is/ A planned settlement of a case over lack of disclosure by a law firm and others in a corporate bankruptcy case has been withdrawn without explanation by the feds. The settlement would have required Kaye Scholer to forgo $1.5 million in attorney fees in a Chapter 11 case and have… Bankruptcy Law, Law Firms, Large Firm, Partners, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Verdicts & Settlements, 2nd Circuit Court, States, New York Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:58:24 -0500 43916.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/city_ordered_to_pay_50k_in_attorneys_fees_in_case_over_police_shooting/ A small city in Washington state has been ordered by a federal judge to pay $50,000 in attorney's fees to the prevailing plaintiffs in a federal civil rights suit over the fatal police shooting of their pet dog. Charles and Deirdre Wright had earlier settled with the city of Des… Animal Law, Civil Rights, Government Law, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Verdicts & Settlements, 9th Circuit Court, States, Washington Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:38:55 -0500 43893.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/kaye_scholer_gives_up_1.5m_in_chapter_11_fees_revamps_policy_to_end_trustee/ Kaye Scholer has agreed to give up $1.5 million in legal fees and revamp its policies and procedures concerning applications for bankruptcy work to settle a U.S. Trustee's office claim that the law firm failed to make necessary disclosures in a major Chapter 11 case. The settlement announced Monday in… Bankruptcy Law, Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Law Firms, Large Firm, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Verdicts & Settlements, 2nd Circuit Court, States, New York Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:02:59 -0500 43880.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/appeals_court_says_client_must_pay_law_firms_fees_unless_there_is_a_finding/ An appeals court in Michigan has agreed with a lower court that a law firm and its attorney did not commit malpractice by signing a settlement agreement on behalf of a group of clients, even though one client objected to the pact. Defendant IGC Management Inc. had appealed the lower… Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Michigan Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:40:56 -0500 43875.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/turnaround_guru_calls_for_cap_on_legal_fees_in_chapter_11_cases/ Fees should be capped for the lawyers who represent companies in Chapter 11 bankruptcies, and they should not be paid at all for pursuing "outlandish" theories, a turnaround guru told attendees at a Friday program. Speaking at a Maryland meeting of an American Bankruptcy Institute commission that is studying Chapter… Bankruptcy Law, Corporate Law, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:50:53 -0500 43852.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/no_cash_no_problem._lawyers_take_cars_yorkies_fish_bait_and_food_as_fees/ When clients don't have cash, many get creative in offering to barter something else for legal services. And, perhaps surprisingly, lawyers often take them up on the offer, reports the Sun-Sentinel. Attorneys tell the Florida newspaper they've taken cars (including a Rolls Royce and a Mini Cooper), Yorkies,… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, States, Florida Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:18:55 -0500 43850.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/shocked_by_3m_legal_fee_in_fatal_car-crash_case_judge_tells_lawyers_to_pay_/ Grappling with hard-fought litigation over the claimed inability of two defendants to pay a $3.2M judgment in a fatal car-crash case, a South Florida judge on Wednesday ordered the defendants' lawyers to pay $50,000 to a plaintiff's attorney. Despite not having gotten all that he sought in a sanctions motion… Legal Ethics, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Florida Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:52:42 -0500 43797.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/special_prosecutor_wins_hard-fought_100k_legal_bill_battle_plus_ruling_he_w/ 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… Election Law, Government Law, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Verdicts & Settlements, States, New York Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:04:45 -0500 43671.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/more_lawyers_charge_1150_an_hour_but_sticker_price_discounts_lower_collecti/ 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… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, In-house Counsel, Law Firms, Associates, Partners, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:46:35 -0500 43664.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/frog_phobia_testimony_helped_man_win_1.6m_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… Environmental Law, Government Law, Real Estate & Property Law, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Evidence, Verdicts & Settlements, States, New York Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:30:24 -0500 43654.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/divorce_from_hell_began_with_6.5k_monthly_alimony_offer_ended_with_1.5k_awa/ 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… Family Law, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Florida Mon, 08 Apr 2013 11:37:38 -0500 43611.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_nixes_attorneys_fees_for_lawyer_in_oil_spill_case_says_clients_signat/ 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,… Energy Law, Oil Spill, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Verdicts & Settlements, 5th Circuit Court, States, Louisiana Fri, 05 Apr 2013 12:25:42 -0500 43614.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/animal_rights_groups_will_have_to_pay_attorney_fees_for_lost_suit_against_c/ 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… Animal Law, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees Tue, 02 Apr 2013 11:46:19 -0500 43525.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/expert_in_legal-fee_fight_blasts_make-believe_game_over_cost_of_contract_la/ 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… Careers, Lawyer Pay, Corporate Law, Securities Law, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, 2nd Circuit Court, States, New York Mon, 01 Apr 2013 12:38:23 -0500 43505.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/churn_that_bill_baby_email_highlights_unfortunate_billable_hour_system_ex-b/ 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… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Law Firms, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees Fri, 29 Mar 2013 11:25:47 -0500 43487.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/does_public_right_to_know_about_838k_murder_defense_bill_trump_attorney-cli/ 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… Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Death Penalty, Criminal Procedure, Government Law, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Arizona Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:38:12 -0500 43478.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/baker_botts_gets_another_5.2m_in_litgation_over_142m_fee_award_in_6b_bankru/ 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… Bankruptcy Law, Corporate Law, Energy Law, Law Firms, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Verdicts & Settlements, 5th Circuit Court, States, Texas Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:13:32 -0500 43474.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/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… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Law Firms, Large Firm, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:00:44 -0500 43462.abajournal.com