A former patent client is taking its $3 million attorney fee fight against Jenner & Block to the Texas Supreme Court by arguing it’s against public policy for the Chicago-based firm to collect after it allegedly walked away from the contingent fee case without just cause.
“We believe that it’s against public policy for lawyers to collect a contingency fee after they’ve walked away without just cause based on results that other lawyers achieved. Certainly that is the crux of the case,” said Kirsten Castañeda, who represents the firm’s former client in Parallel Networks v. Jenner & Block.
But because Jenner & Block won its fee award through binding arbitration, the case presents the high court with an even bigger issue to resolve than just the attorney fee dispute if it accepts the case for review. And that question is whether or not Texas courts can vacate an arbitration award when the arbitrator allegedly violates the state’s public policy, Castañeda said.
