A federal judge, citing excessive hours and unreasonably high rates, ordered a 20% reduction in fees for a law firm helping to protect the assets of investment company WexTrust Capital. Given a long-established principle that lawyers working in receivership situations should be awarded moderate fees, “the request for fees of $2,147,666 for 20 days of work [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Austin, Texas-based appellate boutique Alexander Dubose Jones & Townsend is reducing its billing rates in current hourly-fee cases by 10% on January 1st. Douglas Alexander, a partner in the 13-lawyer firm, notified its clients of the decrease in hourly fees in letters and e-mails. Roger Townsend, a partner in Alexander Dubose’s Houston office, says the idea behind [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Manhattan federal judge Denny Chin would like to know how New York City’s Dewey Cheatham & Howe & LeBoeuf can justify charging a $600 hourly rate for associates on a securities lawsuit. Dewey & LeBoeuf served as reciever for WexTrust Capital in an SEC lawsuit. WexTrust ran a Ponzi scheme that raised $225 million by targeting the Orthodox [...]
Continue reading...Thursday, December 11, 2008
Over 70% percent of large law firms surveyed raised their billing rates this year, with one firm charging more than $1,200 an hour, according to the ABA Journal. The average partner rate was considerably lower, $451 an hour at all law firms surveyed. New York’s White & Case, the 10th largest law firm globally, reported the highest [...]
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Saturday, January 3, 2009
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