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Second Circuit Reverses Order Rejecting Entire Fee Application Due to Inefficient Timekeeping

Posted On December 3rd, 2014 by Legal Fee Advisors

On August 26th the Second Circuit, in the case Mishkin v. Lopalo, vacated a June 2013 federal court order which had denied former special liaison Marion S. Mishkin’s fee application which had initially been deemed “grossly excessive by the court.  In doing so, the Court stated “[i]t was clear error to deny Mishkin any fee […] Read More...

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Fourth District Court Rules that Attorney Time Spent in Preparing an Administrative Record is Recoverable

Posted On November 19th, 2014 by Legal Fee Advisors

In a September 2014 case, Division 1 of the Fourth District held that the County of San Diego could recover labor costs expended for an attorney and paralegals to prepare an administrative record. This case involved a plan for a remediation project at a shooting range, which was approved by the County.  The former owners […] Read More...

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A Taste of their Own Medicine – Federal Courts May Be Able to Use Newly-Issued Supreme Court Standards to Deter Non-Practicing Entities from Bringing Patent Claims

Posted On November 12th, 2014 by Legal Fee Advisors

In Lumen View Tech. LLC v. Findthebest.com, Inc.[1], Judge Denise Cote Court ordered, Lumen, a Non-Practicing Entity, to pay attorney fees after finding this qualified as an “exceptional case” under an attorney fee-shifting statute[2]. The criteria for an “exceptional case” was recently liberalized[3] in the Supreme Court’s decision Octane Fitness[4]. The Court instructed that an […] Read More...

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California Appellate Court Finds That State Trial Courts Do Not Need to Specify How They Calculate Awards of Attorneys’ Fees

Posted On November 5th, 2014 by Legal Fee Advisors

In a September 2014 decision, a Second District Court of Appeals in California found that, in contrast to federal law, California state law does not mandate that trial courts demonstrate exactly how attorneys’ fees are calculated.[1] This case involved a lawsuit brought by an employee of the California Department of Corrections And Rehabilitation (CDCR).  The […] Read More...

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LEGAL FEE ADVISORS introduces its Complex Litigation Cost Management service to relieve corporations of the burden of inside management of large, complex U.S. or International litigation

Posted On October 29th, 2014 by Legal Fee Advisors

Legal representation related to large, complex matters can be especially lengthy and expensive for companies. The reality is that litigation demands extraordinary resources and attention which most companies cannot afford to give. The challenge: Large, complex litigations stretch the resources of many in-house legal departments. They feel a loss of control over the ligation process […] Read More...

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Insurance for Legal Fees? Ask the Federal Government

Posted On October 22nd, 2014 by Legal Fee Advisors

An Above the Law blog dated September 11, 2014, written by Matt Kaiser, talks about the substantial amount of legal fees incurred by federal employees who may have not done anything wrong, but inevitably must defend themselves in litigation arising out of government investigations.  He maintains that due to the sensitive and serious nature of […] Read More...

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$6.7 Million Legal Fee Request Trimmed to $4.4 Million in Arizona Racial Profiling Case

Posted On October 15th, 2014 by Legal Fee Advisors

Arizona U.S. District Court Judge Grant Murray Snow issued a ruling on September 11, 2014, awarding $4.4 million in legal fees to attorneys who won a racial profiling case against Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. [1]The award will be split amongst four plaintiffs groups who collectively helped prove that the Sherriff’s Office had discriminated against Latinos […] Read More...

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California Appellate Court Rules that Firm Size Alone Should Not Control Plaintiff’s Recovery of Attorneys’ Fees

Posted On October 8th, 2014 by Legal Fee Advisors

In a September 2014 decision, Save Our Neighborhood Group v. City of Lancaster (AV California, LLC), a California appellate court declared that the trial court abused its discretion in relying solely on law firm size to calculate the plaintiff’s award of attorneys’ fees. In this case, the plaintiff Save Our Neighborhood Group (SONG), a non-profit […] Read More...

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Inefficient and Excessive Billing Results in Attorney Fee Reduction of 70 Percent

Posted On October 1st, 2014 by Legal Fee Advisors

A U.S. District Court Judge slashed the requested attorney fees for a recent $32 million class action settlement by over $5 million.[1] The law firms were requesting fees of $8 million, but Judge Edward Davila of the Northern District of California found only $2.4 million in fees to be justified, resulting in a reduction of […] Read More...

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Apple Denied Attorney’s Fees in Case Applying Supreme Court’s New Standard

Posted On September 24th, 2014 by Legal Fee Advisors

In a recent Supreme Court case, Octane Fitness, LLC v. Icon Health & Fitness, Inc.,[1] the United States Supreme Court held that a party that prevails under the Lanham Act (the major federal statute governing United States trademark law) is entitled to attorney’s fees in “exceptional cases.”  An exceptional case “stands out from others with […] Read More...

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