Trials & Litigation
When it comes to attorney fees, law firm size doesn’t matter, 9th Circuit rules
An appeals court ruling Tuesday determined that a federal judge was wrong to decide that it was “simply unreasonable to award BigLaw rates to a four-person firm.” (Image from Shutterstock)
An appeals court ruling Tuesday determined that a federal judge was wrong to decide that it was “simply unreasonable to award BigLaw rates to a four-person firm,” according to Bloomberg Law.
Gaw Poe, a small California law firm that employs former BigLaw lawyers, had sought almost $7.7 million based on its prevailing billing rates after its success in an antitrust case, according to the story. But U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald of the Central District of California had rejected the fee request.
But the Tuesday ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at San Francisco found that “first-rate attorneys who prevail in litigation are entitled to receive fees commensurate with their skill, experience and reputation, even if their clients are mom-and-pop businesses that don’t have Fortune 500 budgets to hire BigLaw firms to represent them,” according to Bloomberg Law.
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