DOJ Moves to Dismiss Case After Government Had Problems Turning Over Exculpatory Evidence. Defending criminal cases can be an expensive proposition. Just ask former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. He was convicted on public corruption charges by a jury. However, his case was fraught with problems. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Public Integrity Section had […]
Attorney’s Fee Awards In the News—One Entertainment Case Whooper and Two Smaller Ones $14 Million Fee Award – Entertainment Dispute. Los Angeles County Superior Court produced one of the largest fee awards we know of (with a recent article on the award suggesting it is the biggest ever)–$14 million. Well-known author Clive Cussler
Co-contributor Mike Hensley Is Quoted. In “Slim Pickings: Meltdown business should be booming for lawyers. But it’s not,” an article posted on December 17, 2008 at thebigmoney.com, writer Chris Thompson posits that the corporate failure in America should be a big boom time for American lawyers. However, he does not believe that to
Congress Raises Rates $10 Per Hour After 2005 Survey Shows Menial Net Compensation to CJA Attorneys. After March 11, 2009, attorneys accepting assignments under the federal Criminal Justice Act (CJA) get a $10 per hour pay raise for representing defendants financially unable to retain counsel in federal criminal proceedings. The rates have been raised
Entertainment Conservatorships Do Not Come Cheap. Since a conservatorship was put in place for 27-year-old singer Britney Spears, the attorney’s fees have really soared. No less than 17 lawyers and firms have had a hand in Ms. Spears’ business and personal affairs since then, according to a March 24, 2009 Los Angeles Time article,
“Attorney Fee Disputes In a Volatile and Uncertain Economy” This CLE program on attorneys’ fees is being held this week in San Francisco. March 19, 2009 Golden Gate Law School San Francisco, CA Noon-5pm (with lunch buffet)
County Spent Over $13,000 on Outside Counsel to Collect on $1,004 Detention Debt Owed by Grandmother. California state law apparently allows a parent or guardian of minors to be charged for their criminal detention through county probation departments, although state law also prohibits billing the indigent. These laws have created quite an uproar when
Kimberly Kralowec Provides Details on the March 3, 2009 Arguments. Co-contributor Mike Hensley and his colleague Robert J. Stein III attended yesterday’s California Supreme Court’s arguments in San Francisco in Tobacco II, a case that will likely decide the impact of certain post-Proposition 64 amendments to California’s Unfair Competition Law. Kimberly A.
Angels Spend $7.5 Million On Litigation, Failing to Win Fees Under Indemnity Clause. Given that spring training is not far away for baseball fans, we have a postscript from our December 20, 2008 post discussing the Fourth District, Division 3’s decision in City of Anaheim v. Angels Baseball, L.P. In that case, the
Costco Hit With FEHA Fee Award of $471,240 Plus Costs. In our category “Civil Rights,” you will find cases discussing California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), a statutory scheme that has a mandatory fee-shifting provision in favor of winning plaintiffs. The next fee award demonstrates that, depending on the ultimate outcome, fee awards
