Business Development

Maine Lawyers Who Represent Indigent Defendants Will Have to Wait for $50-an-Hour Pay

Lawyers who are assigned to represent criminal defendants in Maine won’t be paid during the month of June because the Indigent Legal Defense Commission has run out of money. Lawyers will get paid in July when the new fiscal year begins, the Bangor Daily News reports. Bangor lawyer Aaron Frey,…

May 30, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

Judge and 2 Court-Appointed Lawyers Sued Over Alleged Conspiracy to Loot Rosa Parks Estate

In the latest salvo in an onoing dispute over the estate of civil rights icon Rosa Parks, an attorney for a foundation that was to benefit from her will has sued a Michigan probate judge and two court-appointed attorneys, contending that they conspired to loot her estate. The unusual filing…

May 17, 2012 4:06 PM CDT

Dog Custody Battle Racks Up $60K in Attorney’s Fees

A 34-year-old New York City man who says he considers his dog his son has spent over $60,000 so far on legal fees fighting his ex-girlfriend in a cross-country court battle for custody of a puggle named Knuckles. Craig Dershowitz says he has gone through his life savings in a…

May 14, 2012 3:33 PM CDT

After Hectic Week at Dewey, Focus Turns to Unpaid $9.6M Bill of Partner’s Brother

Former Dewey & LeBoeuf chairman Steven Davis isn’t the only partner at the troubled law firm subject to some finger-pointing. Some Davis supporters are telling the Am Law Daily (reg. req.) about an unpaid legal bill racked up by the late brother of former Dewey vice chairman Morton Pierce. Pierce’s…

May 7, 2012 12:44 PM CDT

Lawyer Is Charged with Stealing from Law Firm He Founded

A Tennessee lawyer has been charged with stealing from his Knoxville law firm in an indictment made public on Thursday. Charles Edward “Eddie” Daniel was charged with theft and forgery, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. He is accused of taking money that belonged to his firm, Daniel, Pemberton, Scott &…

Apr 27, 2012 2:53 PM CDT

NJ Judge OKs AG’s Plan to Subpoena Legal Fee Info re 20 Mob Case Defendants, Nixes Privilege Claim

A New Jersey judge has approved a plan by the state attorney general to subpoena legal-fee information concerning 20 of 34 defendants indicted in 2010 on charges they participated in a claimed $2.2 billion international gambling ring operated by an organized crime family. Although defense lawyers argued that attorney-client privilege…

Apr 24, 2012 6:34 PM CDT

Lead Counsel in OJ Simpson Case Sues 3 Lawyers for Claimed Slander in Legal Fee Dispute

An out-of-state lawyer heading O.J. Simpson’s defense team in a 2008 armed robbery trial in Nevada that ended with the former football great’s conviction has fired back in a legal fee dispute with local counsel. Miami attorney Yale Galanter of sued three attorneys for slander in a suit filed Thursday…

Apr 20, 2012 3:50 PM CDT

How Can You Make Sure Your Client Pays You What You’re Owed?

ABA Journal business of law reporter Rachel M. Zahorsky discusses this topic with Beazley’s Brant Weidner, along with key points for lawyers to contemplate when weighing the risks and rewards of a fee suit and ways to prevent the predicament altogether.

Apr 16, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Lawyer Suspended 30 Days for $2,500 Minimum Fee Charge

A retired Iowa lawyer has received a 30 day suspension for charging a $2,500 nonrefundable retainer, even though he spent less than four hours of work on the case. The Iowa Supreme Court imposed the suspension on Friday against retired Clinton lawyer William Vilmont, report the Quad-City Times and the…

Apr 9, 2012 2:19 PM CDT

Federal Judge Socks Minn. Lawyer with $50K Sanction, Plus Opponent Attorney’s Fees

A Minneapolis lawyer has been socked by a federal judge with a $50,000 sanction, for what the jurist describes as an illegitimate business model based on repeated frivolous filings, delay and forum-shopping. William Butler’s conduct required a substantial sanction, wrote U.S. District Court Judge Patrick Schiltz, because “he has not…

Apr 5, 2012 8:57 PM CDT

Inmates Will Get $153K, Lawyers Have Earned Nearly $1.6M as 9-Year-Old Chicago Jail Suit Settles

After nine years of legal battle, the Cook County Board has agreed to settle for $1 million a lawsuit over a since-amended weekend lockdown policy at its Chicago jail. The bulk of the money, $850,000, will go to the lawyer who represented four female inmates in the suit, which they…

Apr 4, 2012 5:56 PM CDT

Federal Judge: Motley Rice, 2 Other Law Firms Must Pay $395K in Legal Fees re ‘Frivolous’ Suit

A federal judge in Indianapolis has ordered Motley Rice and two other law firms to pay nearly $395,000 in legal fees for bringing what the judge called a frivolous whistle-blower suit “based on a completely false story.” ITT Educational Services said it spent millions defending the False Claims Act suit,…

Mar 28, 2012 6:12 PM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: Prof Crunches Law Schools’ Employment Numbers; Do Web Startups Offer Value?

Rank Misrepresentations At The Faculty Lounge, University of North Carolina law school professor Bernie Burk decided to seek out information on law school websites to see what percentage of graduates are holding temporary positions funded by the law school at graduation. He promises to mine more schools’ data and post…

Mar 23, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Alternative Fee Arrangements Are a Tool, Not a Strategy

Earlier this year, I met Pat Lamb, one of our fearless leaders in the New Normal, for coffee near his office. Given his success in delivering high-quality legal services under alternative fee arrangements, I wanted to hear his thoughts about their use in practice. Pat emphasized that lawyers should be…

Mar 21, 2012 1:49 PM CDT

City of Portland, Ore., Sues Insurer to Recover In-House Defense Costs of $1.5M

Saying that the use of its own in-house city attorneys to fight employment-related claims conferred a benefit to its insurance carrier, the city of Portland, Ore., has filed suit against its former liability insurer. Filed Friday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, the suit seeks reimbursement of nearly $1.5 million Portland…

Mar 6, 2012 9:37 PM CST