A Sampling of Legal Fee News from around the country…
Red Flags That You Hired the Wrong Divorce Lawyer (Huffington Post – 7/12) – Laurie Giles penned a brief article on hiring the wrong divorce lawyer. Mentioned in her article is some of the same over billing techniques that corporate law firms use – billing for unresolved phone calls and overhead.
M&A Lawsuits Skyrocket as Fee-Hungry Law Firms Smell Easy Money (Fox Business – 7/12) – Not directly legal fee oriented, but an anticipation of what types of suits your company may be facing. These lawsuits tend to be high pressure – power play moves by firms, and potentially lead to massive legal fees.
Legal Fees Charges for Excessive Attorney Conferencing Results in Fee Reduction (Sterling Analytics) – This issue analyzed a Mississippi Court Ruling.
Coakley seeks Inquiry into Utility’s Legal Fees (July 8th, Boston Globe) – Massachusettes A.G Martha Coakley is seeking an investigation into the legal bills submitted by New England Gas. In a February filing, N.E.G.’s relationship to Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP was called into question, after one of the Firm’s partners, Eric Herschmann, joined NEG’s parent company, Southern Union, as a senior executive vice president. Herschmann is now president and COO.
MGA defends $108 million fee award in Bratz fight, documents show (Law.com, 7/13) – MGA, whom sought 161 million dollars from Mattel in recent litigation over “Bratz” dolls, has acquiesced to the discovery master’s award of $108 million dollars. MGA retained Skadden and Orrick to defend the case, and the bills submitted included hundred of thousands of dollars from vendors and hotels in Riverside California.
