DLA Piper
Settling Fee Dispute, Law Firm Denounces ‘E-Mail Humor’
June 2, 2013
The law firm DLA Piper has settled a fee dispute with one of its clients, resolving a case that highlighted lawyers’ e-mails that discussed overbilling the client, in one instance using the phrase “churn that bill, baby!” to describe their work. The e-mails surfaced in dueling lawsuits between DLA Piper and Adam H. Victor, an energy industry executive. After DLA Piper sued Mr. Victor for $675,000 in unpaid legal bills, Mr. Victor filed a counterclaim, accusing the law firm of a “sweeping...
June 2, 2013
The law firm DLA Piper has settled a fee dispute with one of its clients, resolving a case that highlighted lawyers’ e-mails that discussed overbilling the client, in one instance using the phrase “churn that bill, baby!” to describe their work. The e-mails surfaced in dueling lawsuits between DLA Piper and Adam H. Victor, an energy industry executive. After DLA Piper sued Mr. Victor for $675,000 in unpaid legal bills, Mr. Victor filed a counterclaim, accusing the law firm of a “sweeping...
‘Churn that bill, baby!’ email surfaces in fee dispute with DLA Piper
March 29, 2013
It all began with a corporate bankruptcy case. Retained by energy entrepreneur Adam H. Victor in April 2010 to prepare the Chapter 11 filing for one of his companies, DLA Piper ran up a hefty bill. And when Victor refused to pay it, the law firm sued him for $675,000. Victor defended aggressively, not only filing a counterclaim over what he alleged was a “sweeping practice of overbilling" on the megafirm's part but discovering some 250,000 pages of documents, according to the DealBook page...
March 29, 2013
It all began with a corporate bankruptcy case. Retained by energy entrepreneur Adam H. Victor in April 2010 to prepare the Chapter 11 filing for one of his companies, DLA Piper ran up a hefty bill. And when Victor refused to pay it, the law firm sued him for $675,000. Victor defended aggressively, not only filing a counterclaim over what he alleged was a “sweeping practice of overbilling" on the megafirm's part but discovering some 250,000 pages of documents, according to the DealBook page...
Apology Fails in DLA Piper Legal Billing Scandal
March 28, 2013
The billable hour is the monster inside the law business. Thanks to dogged discovery efforts by a former DLA Piper client, the monster has broken out of its lair and is standing, somewhat mortified but proud and unbowed, in the media’s cross-hairs. If you’ve been on vacation, here are billing emails discovered in a lawsuit between (depending on your side of the case) a deadbeat client and an upstanding law firm or a virtuous businessman and his rapacious lawyers. “I hear we are already...
March 28, 2013
The billable hour is the monster inside the law business. Thanks to dogged discovery efforts by a former DLA Piper client, the monster has broken out of its lair and is standing, somewhat mortified but proud and unbowed, in the media’s cross-hairs. If you’ve been on vacation, here are billing emails discovered in a lawsuit between (depending on your side of the case) a deadbeat client and an upstanding law firm or a virtuous businessman and his rapacious lawyers. “I hear we are already...
DLA Piper Is Not Alone: Why Law Firms Overbill
March 28, 2013
Some mornings are just nice to wake up to. Confirmation of bias is an underappreciated source of joy. I relish any piece of information that reinforces my preconceptions. Four stories making the rounds have reminded me how right I am that: 1. Price is what you pay. Value is what you get (hat tip to Warren Buffet). 2. The billable hour model creates perverse incentives in aligning price and value. 3. The problem with incentives is that they work — even for lawyers. 4. Despite their expertise,...
March 28, 2013
Some mornings are just nice to wake up to. Confirmation of bias is an underappreciated source of joy. I relish any piece of information that reinforces my preconceptions. Four stories making the rounds have reminded me how right I am that: 1. Price is what you pay. Value is what you get (hat tip to Warren Buffet). 2. The billable hour model creates perverse incentives in aligning price and value. 3. The problem with incentives is that they work — even for lawyers. 4. Despite their expertise,...
DLA Piper Calls E-Mails Cited in Lawsuit an ‘Offensive’ Attempt at Humor
March 28, 2013
After a lawsuit of involving the billing practices of DLA Piper, the law firm on Tuesday issued a memo to its lawyers, calling language in e-mails written by its lawyers “unprofessional.” The law firm is involved in a fee dispute with Adam H. Victor, an energy industry executive, who has accused the law firm of performing superfluous tasks and overstaffing assignments. Mr. Victor’s suit cited several e-mail messages from lawyers at the firm. One e-mail involved a lawyer describing how a colleague...
March 28, 2013
After a lawsuit of involving the billing practices of DLA Piper, the law firm on Tuesday issued a memo to its lawyers, calling language in e-mails written by its lawyers “unprofessional.” The law firm is involved in a fee dispute with Adam H. Victor, an energy industry executive, who has accused the law firm of performing superfluous tasks and overstaffing assignments. Mr. Victor’s suit cited several e-mail messages from lawyers at the firm. One e-mail involved a lawyer describing how a colleague...
