Business Development

D.C. Court of Appeals Details Rules for Escrowing Up-Front Legal Fee

In one of the few decisions that addresses the proper handling of legal fees paid up front by the client before they are earned, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals held that they should be escrowed in the attorney’s trust account—and explains the rules for doing so. At issue…

Sep 24, 2009 9:57 PM CDT

Freed from Prison & Awarded $4M, Exonerated Man Fights $1M Legal Bill

Freed from a Texas prison and awarded $4 million in compensation after DNA evidence showed that he didn’t commit the sexual assaults for which he served 24 years, 51-year-old Steven Phillips is now fighting his $1 million legal bill. His new legal counsel is asking a state-court judge in Dallas…

Sep 23, 2009 4:37 PM CDT

Judge Strikes DuPont Defenses in $60M Benlate Litigation Due to Discovery Fraud

Saying that DuPont engaged in “a deliberate scheme to interfere” with the court’s rulings during more than a decade of litigation over damage allegedly done to Ecuadorian shrimp beds by the company’s Benlate fungicide, a Florida judge has struck the chemical manufacturer’s defenses in two companion cases. Attorney Robert McKee…

Sep 17, 2009 10:13 PM CDT

Mayer Brown and Reed Smith to Roll Out Fixed-Fee Plans for Corporate Clients

In what may be a signpost to the future for other BigLaw firms, two major legal partnerships are planning to implement fixed-fee payment structures for corporate clients. Mayer Brown is working on a plan to offer fixed fees for all transactional work, and Reed Smith has set up a committee…

Sep 17, 2009 5:30 PM CDT

Law Firm Sues D.C. Area Court Clerk, Claims $73K in Unpaid Fees

A Virginia law firm has sued the court clerk in Fairfax, claiming it is owed $73,000 for work in dozens of juvenile cases. Lawyers Michael Arif and Matthew Greene said they sued after the court clerk failed to respond to repeated requests for information about the unpaid vouchers, some that…

Sep 16, 2009 2:09 PM CDT

Pfizer Wins Injunction Banning N.Y. Man’s ‘Viva Viagra’ Missile Stunt

A federal judge has sided with Pfizer in an unusual trademark dispute over its erectile disfunction drug Viagra, granting a permanent injunction banning a New York man from towing a 25-foot missile replica emblazoned with “Viva Viagra” in front of the drug manufacturer’s Manhattan world headquarters. In addition to U.S.…

Sep 10, 2009 4:57 PM CDT

Judge Hits ‘Remora’ Lawyers, ‘Emphatically’ Turns Down Fee Request

A federal judge in Minneapolis didn’t hide his disdain when he turned down a request for $225,000 in attorney fees by lawyers representing objectors in a class action settlement. The lawyers had argued against payment of $110 million in attorney fees as part of a settlement in shareholder litigation against…

Sep 8, 2009 2:41 PM CDT

Stanford Receiver Defends $27M Bill Against SEC’s ‘Shrill Objections’

In an unusual public battle over a court-appointed receiver’s $27 million bill, attorney Ralph Janvey is telling the feds that cleaning up an alleged $7 billion bank Ponzi scheme of which Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford is the accused mastermind costs money. In a filing last night in federal district…

Sep 2, 2009 6:22 PM CDT

The Switch to Smaller

Less cost, more experience lure giants to Lilliput Legal

Sep 2, 2009 1:50 AM CDT

CIA Reportedly Will Pay Legal Fees of Officers in Interrogation Abuse Probe

The CIA will make sure officers investigated for interrogation abuses have legal representation, according to a senior intelligence official. The unnamed official told the Washington Post that CIA Director Leon Panetta “will do everything he can to ensure that anyone who needs legal representation has it, whether they have liability…

Aug 28, 2009 12:07 PM CDT

WilmerHale Leader Is the Latest Fixed-Fees Convert

Law firms shouldn’t have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the world of fixed-fee billing. Firm leaders would do well to embrace the economic benefits of fixed fees, according to William Lee, the co-managing partner of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. The alternative billing arrangement “is an idea…

Aug 24, 2009 1:59 PM CDT

How GCs are Cutting Costs—and Possibly Law Firm Profits

The general counsel of several large companies are requiring more of their law firms to use flat fees instead of charging by the hour. The result: Companies are saving money and law firms are likely feeling the earnings squeeze, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. The article says these…

Aug 24, 2009 1:03 PM CDT

Weil Seeks $100M in Lehman Case, Identifies Hardest Working Associate

Weil, Gotshal & Manges is seeking more than $100 million in legal fees and expenses for its work in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy case. The law firm’s second fee application would put it over the $100 million mark in total billings, when hold back payments are included, the Am Law…

Aug 20, 2009 12:44 PM CDT

Judge Slashes $45M from Coughlin Stoia Fees Because of Disgraced Partner

A federal judge in Minneapolis has slashed $45 million from attorney fees due to Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins because of its disgraced former partner William Lerach. Ruling in a backdating settlement against UnitedHealth, U.S. District Judge James Rosenbaum said Lerach failed to inform the court he was under…

Aug 12, 2009 2:59 PM CDT

Hand Over Client Info, 9th Circuit Tells Ex-Hagens Berman Counsel

Upholding a preliminary injunction issued by a federal court in western Washington state, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has told two onetime counsel for Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro to hand over information about prospective clients they lined up for their now-former law firm. Eran Rubinstein and…

Aug 5, 2009 8:45 PM CDT