Posted On September 17th, 2014 by Legal Fee Advisors
As reported in a National Law Journal article of August 14, 2014, Unilever settled a class action brought by plaintiffs in the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, alleging that they suffered hair loss and scalp injury as a result of a product, Suave Professionals Keratin Infusion 30 day smoothing kit, which was […] Read More...
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Posted On September 10th, 2014 by Legal Fee Advisors
Earlier this year we asked whether law schools are adequately developing their students’ practical and professional skills. [See Legal Fee Advisors’ publications: Are Law Schools Missing The Boat When It Comes To Training Lawyers: How To Fairly Bill For Their Services?]. We also highlighted some of the limitations of, and alternatives to classroom learning. [It […] Read More...
Posted On September 3rd, 2014 by Legal Fee Advisors
In a recent decision, Betz v. Diamond Jim’s Auto Sales,[1] the Wisconsin Supreme Court considered whether a plaintiff’s attorney is entitled to statutory attorney’s fees when, without the knowledge or approval of the attorney, the plaintiff and defendant enter into a settlement agreement that does not discuss attorney’s fees. The Court recognized that if clients […] Read More...
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A California Superior Court Judge recently slashed the $1.15 million requested by attorneys after the settlement of a Marin County Welfare case by more than $700,000.[1] The attorneys said the time they spent during a three-year legal battle fighting to reform a welfare program was worth at least $2.4 million, but they ended up with […] Read More...
The well renowned law firm DLA Piper has reached a confidential settlement in its highly controversial suit stemming from unpaid legal fees. Adam H. Victor, an energy industry executive, was sued by DLA Piper for not paying a portion of his legal bills in the amount of $675,000, which he claimed were excessive. In response, […] Read More...
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Dual partnership tiers are becoming entrenched in law firm culture as numbers of non-equity partners continues to climb. According to a current survey by The American Lawyer (a sibling publication of The New Jersey Law Journal), a mere 17 of the 100 top-grossing law firms are made up of only one tier of equity partners.[1] […] Read More...
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A recent Pennsylvania District Court decision awarded attorneys’ fees in the amount of $70,948.89, which constituted a 50% reduction of the $140,682.00 originally requested. The federal judge ruled that the fees were duplicative, unnecessary, and unreasonable due to the amount of hours spent on the same type of work, redundant staffing at hearings, and the […] Read More...
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In a July 2014 decision in a disability access case, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California reduced the amount of attorney fees sought by the plaintiff from $1,444,513.84 to $758,153.89. The Court used a two-step method to calculate a reasonable fee award. The first step was to determine a presumptive fee […] Read More...
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In a June, 2013 decision, the Supreme Court of Ohio, in the case of Disciplinary Counsel v Tomson, 990 NE2d 579 [2013], affirmed permanent disbarment of the attorney, due to violations of the ethical rules. In this case, disciplinary proceedings were brought against the attorney who failed to pursue a post-conviction relief on behalf of […] Read More...
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In late June, 2014 a California District Court Judge, assessing an attorney fees request by Apple’s counsel in the ongoing litigation against Samsung, slashed objectionable time entries by 20% and discounted expenses associated with first class airfare and other travel.[1] The attorney fees at issue in the case arose from the Court’s January order awarding […] Read More...
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