Business Development

Ex-Duane Morris Client Claims Fuzzy Billing, Wants $2.3M in Legal Bills Voided

Updated: A former corporate client has filed a lawsuit against Duane Morris that takes the law firm to task for alleged block billing entries and a purported agreement allowing the firm to restrict the client’s business operations. The $100 million suit was filed Sept. 15 by U.S. Precious Metals against…

Oct 1, 2010 3:40 PM CDT

Ex-Associate Testifies PI Lawyer Disappointed by ‘Lousy $41 Million’ in Fees

A onetime associate who worked for personal injury lawyer George Fleming revealed in courtroom testimony Wednesday that his onetime boss was disappointed about “a lousy $41 million” in fees earned in a fen-phen case. Jim Doyle testified Wednesday about fees and expenses in a fen-phen settlement obtained on behalf of…

Sep 30, 2010 2:57 PM CDT

Judge Cites ‘Egregious Breach’ of Ethics, Slashes Law Firm Fee from $12M to $500K

An antitrust class action over the fees charged to law graduates to take the BAR/BRI test preparation course for their bar exams was settled for $49 million in 2007. The settlement by West Publishing Corp., which owns BAR/BRI, resolved claims that it made a secret market-monopolization deal with Kaplan Inc.,…

Sep 28, 2010 8:11 PM CDT

Battle of the Titans: Divorce Lawyer’s Fee Suit Backfires in Bar Prez Battle

A former president of the Virginia Bar Association came out the loser when he sued a former client for additional attorney fees and the client fought back, using expert testimony from another ex-bar president. The lawyer who sued, Glenn Lewis, “is an acknowledged titan of the D.C. area divorce bar,”…

Sep 27, 2010 2:13 PM CDT

Federal Judge’s Standing Order Fines Firm $500/Day for Late Filing, Requires Explanation to Clients

A federal judge in Newark has lost patience with a New Jersey law firm’s “habitual” late filing of briefs in Social Security appellate matters. So she imposed a standing order at the beginning of the month requiring Langton & Alter to pay $500 a day for future late fillings, as…

Sep 24, 2010 8:16 PM CDT

Wal-Mart Seeks Discovery in Enviro Suits: Did Competitors (and Unions) Pay the Legal Bills?

It hasn’t been easy for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to open new stores lately. Protracted environmental litigation has slowed the growth of the giant retailer in California and elsewhere, especially since 2002, when it began selling groceries in its stores. But it may not be grass-root environmental groups funding these cases,…

Sep 23, 2010 10:53 PM CDT

Fireworks Expected: Maricopa Board Axes Ogletree Deakins, Law Firm for Sheriff Arpaio

In the latest battle in a hard-fought war between Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., and the county’s board of supervisors, the governing body voted today to fire the law firm that has been representing Arpaio and his office against the board and even some judges in a fight…

Sep 22, 2010 11:32 PM CDT

Toyota Lawyer Drives Into Attorney, Loses $625K Case, Must Pay Her $125K Legal Bill + $5K for Appeal

It appears that attorney Granville Webster Burns simply didn’t see a fellow California lawyer when he drove into her as she was crossing a street on foot in Manhattan Beach. Burns, who works as an assistant general counsel for Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. and was driving a company-owned SUV,…

Sep 22, 2010 7:57 PM CDT

‘Squeezed’ and Laid-Off Partners Spur Uptick in Lateral Hiring, Recruiter Says

Recruiters are identifying a reason for an uptick in lateral hiring by law firms: partner survival. The American Lawyer contacted a half-dozen legal recruiters after receiving close to 40 press releases last week about new partner hires, about double the usual number. Chicago recruiter Kay Hoppe explained that partners are…

Sep 16, 2010 1:29 PM CDT

Consultant Offers Demographic Reason to Abandon the Billable Hour

The graying of the profession is a good justification for abandoning the billable hour, a law firm consultant says. Lawyers tend to bill the most hours in their sixth and seventh year of practice, Altman Weil principal James Cotterman says in the consulting firm’s Report to Law Firm Management (PDF).…

Sep 15, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Law Firms Counseling Start-Ups Offer Deferred Payment Plans, Introductions

Several high-profile law firms counseling start-ups are offering deferred payment plans, fixed fees and some important venture capital connections. The firms include Cooley Godward Kronish, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, DLA Piper and Venable, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. In some cases, the firms are linking new companies…

Sep 9, 2010 11:54 AM CDT

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