A selection of Legal Fees news articles from the past week…
MLB, Texas Rangers Battling Over Fees (Dallas Star-Telegram)– The long saga of the Texas Rangers Baseball Partners bankruptcy isn’t over yet. Dallas firm Munsch Hardt, representing the bankruptcy plan, are requesting massive reductions from the 6.3 million dollar fee request by MLB. Charges they object to include $98,000 in photocopying fees, $92,000 for online research and questioning “Why did baseball Commissioner Bud Selig need three attorneys to hold his hand during a deposition.”
Biggest Winner in Lockout – Lawyers (ESPN) – The NFL lockout is over now, but the legal teams of the players and owners were the big winners. ESPN Chicago reports that literally hundreds of millions of dollars were paid to the attorneys, and for those watching the coverage – it should be clear that Proskauer Rose played a prominent role in the negotiations. (It’s nice to see Chris Mortneson and Sal Palantonio reporting about football again).
Tennessee District Court Reduces Attorney’s Fee Award by 25% (Sterling Analytics) – While excessive legal billing is very fact specific, and at times difficult to determine in complex litigation, the court here found that the attorneys billings for a total of three months time was excessive when the entire matter was resolved in only seven months. Illustrative of this holding, the court noted that the attorneys billed 36 hours for tasks related to the drafting of a nine-page complaint; the court found this was a disproportionate amount of time spent on a relatively common and simple task. Additionally, the court took issue with the duplication of several charges.
Rare Request for Supreme Court Attorneys Fees (SCOTUS Blog)- SCOTUS blog, a blog dedicated to the goings of the Supreme Court, covered the recent request by the two video game trade organizations that brought suit against California. After successfully getting a California statute thrown out, the groups – who have already been awarded fees at the trial court and 9th circuit, are now seeking over 1.1 million dollars in fees. Some of the requests include $23,000 to conduct a moot court!
Why Corporate Lawyers are From Mars and Claims Managers are From Earth (Legal Bill Reviewer Blog)- John Condron tackles some of the issues that in-house counsel faces in controlling their legal spend. A must read, especially for insurance professionals.
