In The News

Patent Trolls First.      Although patent troll legislation has stalled for now in Congress, the dual U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Octane Fitness, LLC v. Icon Health & Fitness, Inc., 134 S.Ct. 1749 (2014) and Highmark, Inc. v. Allcare Health Mgmt. Sys., Inc., 134 S.Ct. 1744 (2014) may have given some impetus to defendants […]

David Boies, Too, Pans the Billable Hour. ​In a June 26, 2014 post at the on-line version of the ABA Journal, David Peer has written an article suggesting a proposal to amend ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Model Rule 1.5 to list factors which would promote alternative billing arrangements in lieu of the hourly

  $15 Million is the Stipulated Fees/Costs To Plaintiffs’ Counsel Under Clear Sailing Provision.      Oracle Corp., the largest marker of database software, has signed a June 13, 2014 settlement agreement with shareholders challenging its merger with Pillar Data System, a company in which Oracle founder Larry Ellison had a 55% interest—claiming the merger unfairly

  Jewel v. Boxer Found To Be Inapt, With Reasoning Indicating It May No Longer Be Viable California Law.      On February 22, 2014, we reported on a bankruptcy court decision where Heller Ehrman’s Chapter 11 trustee had obtained a successful “clawback” of hourly fee matter proceeds going to third-party firms which took over Heller

       Our colleagues at NALFA recently posted on one case and a subsequent development we now share with you. Massachusetts Appellate Court Finds In-House Counsel Fees Are Recoverable.      In Holland v. Jackmann, Mass. App. No. 13-P-0280 (May 14, 2014), an appellate court determined that in-house counsel work could be recoverable as attorney’s fees

  May Have Profound Impact for Delaware Corporations and Shareholder Litigation Fee-Shifting.       Though occurring in a Delaware non-stock corporation context, the Delaware Supreme Court in ATP Tour, Inc. v. Deutscher Tennis Bund (German Tennis Federation), Del. Sup. Ct. Case No. 534, 2013 (May 8, 2014) addressed whether Delaware corporations can adopt bylaws requiring shareholders/LLC

  Feb. 2014 The Business Lawyer Article by Professor Grundfest Shows Fees Obtained By Class Counsel and Defense Counsel in Federal Securities Class Actions.      Joseph A. Grundfest has written an interesting article in the February 2014 edition of the ABA’s The Business Lawyer, calling for a reexamination of the basic presumption of reliance and

GRRRRRRRRR . . . .      If you are reading this post, we thank you for your loyalty!       Since last week, our internet platform, the usually very reliable Typepad, owned by SAY Media, has been subjected to a “distributed denial-of-service attack.”      A DDOS attack is intended to make a network resource unavailable to

  We Don’t Advise It, Unless You Want Jail Time.      Lubbock, Texas.  “Poochy”.  1942.  Library of Congress.      Here is one way of collecting fees we don’t advise doing.      San Antonio attorney Hilda Valadez pleaded guilty in March of this year to criminal fraud charges of forging a judge’s signature on orders showing