Weekly Wrap Up 9/23/2011

The latest in newsworthy legal fees stories…

Brits Contemplating Legal Fees Reform (Insurance JournalJudge Orders Reduction of Fees (The Providence Journal) – A Town of Johnston judge concluded that bills submitted by the firm Brown Rudnick were excessive in the Caplease action, and ordered them reduced. Superior Court Justice Silverstein ordered the town to pay attorneys’ fees, but said the amounts submitted were not in-line with what he expected. He gave the attorneys two weeks to come up with a revised figure, than said the town will have time to review the bills and challenge any fees still under dispute.

Approximately Half of A&P’s Bankruptcy Attorneys’ Fees Reviewed Found Objectionable (Sterling Analytics) -Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, Inc. is one of the nation’s first supermarket chains. On December 12, 2010, A&P filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York. Sterling Analytics Group, a legal cost consulting firm, has reviewed some of the legal bills incurred as a result of A&P’s bankruptcy filing, totaling $863,572.36. From this audit, Sterling Analytics found $411,069.07, or 47.60% of the total billings, represented objectionable charges.

City Offers $105,000 to the Victorious Lawyers in $1 Case. (Seattle Times) – After a civil rights victory to the tune of $1, attorneys representing the plaintiff sought over $400,000 in attorneys fees. Upon the judge reviewing the fee request, fees were cut to approximately $90,000. In order to get the verdict dismissed, Seattle officials offered $15,000 on top of the fee request to get the verdict thrown out. The Seattle City Attorney has charachterized the offer as “business, pure and simple”. The case has already cost the city more than $300,000 in its own attorneys’ fees.