Counsel Fees - O'Bannon v. NCAA
Content
Counsel Fees - O’Bannon v. NCAA Remedies – Spring 2015
George W. Conk Adjunct Professor & Senior Fellow, Stein Center for Law & Ethics [email protected] Room 8-122 212-636-7446
Counsel Fees fall 2014 remedies
1
When fees are “shifted”
Lodestar
Risk enhancement
Fee shifting statutes
Ch. 3 fees and billing
2
O’Bannon v. NCAA
Ch. 3 fees and billing
3
O’Bannon v. NCAA Nice work if you can get it?
Attorneys’ fees
$46,856,319.46
Clayton Act recoverable costs $5,555,739.07
The lodestar: $985 - $250/hour
Ch. 3 fees and billing
4
Clayton Act – fee shifting
15 U.S.C. § 26 provides that “[a]ny person.. shall be entitled to sue for… injunctive relief… against threatened loss or damage by a violation of the antitrust laws . . . . In any action under this section in which the plaintiff substantially prevails, the court shall award the cost of suit, including a reasonable attorney’s fee, to such plaintiff.” Ch. 3 fees and billing
5
Plaintiffs counsel’s motion for fees – O’Bannon v. NCAA
Reasonable fees and costs span “every item of service which, at the time rendered, would have been undertaken by a reasonable and prudent lawyer to advance or protect his client’s interest . . . .”
Ch. 3 fees and billing
6
NCAA seeks steep cuts in plaintiffs counsel fees
Ch. 3 fees and billing
7
NCAA objects to fees for
work prior to September 1, 2012 when P’s theory of the case changed work done solely to advance claims upon which P’s did not substantially prevail claims that were essentially abandoned unnecessary, redundant or inefficient work unsupported by plaintiffs’ billing records or Ch. 3 fees and billing
8
R. 1.5 - A Reasonable Fee
(a) A lawyer shall not make an agreement for, charge, or collect an unreasonable fee or an unreasonable amount for expenses. Factors to be considered in determining the reasonableness: (1) the time and labor required, the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved, and the skill requisite to perform the legal service properly Ch. 3 fees and billing
9
R. 1.5 - A Reasonable Fee
(2) the likelihood, if apparent to the client, that the acceptance of the particular employment will preclude other employment by the lawyer
(3) the fee customarily charged in the locality for similar legal services
Ch. 3 fees and billing
10
R. 1.5 - A Reasonable Fee
(4) the amount involved and the results obtained;
(5) the time limitations imposed by the client or by the circumstances
Ch. 3 fees and billing
11
R. 1.5 - A Reasonable Fee
(6) the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client;
(7) the experience, reputation, and ability of the lawyer or lawyers performing the services
Ch. 3 fees and billing
12
R. 1.5 - A Reasonable Fee
(8) whether the fee is fixed or contingent.
Ch. 3 fees and billing
13
George W. Conk Adjunct Professor & Senior Fellow, Stein Center for Law & Ethics [email protected] Room 8-122 212-636-7446
Counsel Fees fall 2014 remedies
1
When fees are “shifted”
Lodestar
Risk enhancement
Fee shifting statutes
Ch. 3 fees and billing
2
O’Bannon v. NCAA
Ch. 3 fees and billing
3
O’Bannon v. NCAA Nice work if you can get it?
Attorneys’ fees
$46,856,319.46
Clayton Act recoverable costs $5,555,739.07
The lodestar: $985 - $250/hour
Ch. 3 fees and billing
4
Clayton Act – fee shifting
15 U.S.C. § 26 provides that “[a]ny person.. shall be entitled to sue for… injunctive relief… against threatened loss or damage by a violation of the antitrust laws . . . . In any action under this section in which the plaintiff substantially prevails, the court shall award the cost of suit, including a reasonable attorney’s fee, to such plaintiff.” Ch. 3 fees and billing
5
Plaintiffs counsel’s motion for fees – O’Bannon v. NCAA
Reasonable fees and costs span “every item of service which, at the time rendered, would have been undertaken by a reasonable and prudent lawyer to advance or protect his client’s interest . . . .”
Ch. 3 fees and billing
6
NCAA seeks steep cuts in plaintiffs counsel fees
Ch. 3 fees and billing
7
NCAA objects to fees for
work prior to September 1, 2012 when P’s theory of the case changed work done solely to advance claims upon which P’s did not substantially prevail claims that were essentially abandoned unnecessary, redundant or inefficient work unsupported by plaintiffs’ billing records or Ch. 3 fees and billing
8
R. 1.5 - A Reasonable Fee
(a) A lawyer shall not make an agreement for, charge, or collect an unreasonable fee or an unreasonable amount for expenses. Factors to be considered in determining the reasonableness: (1) the time and labor required, the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved, and the skill requisite to perform the legal service properly Ch. 3 fees and billing
9
R. 1.5 - A Reasonable Fee
(2) the likelihood, if apparent to the client, that the acceptance of the particular employment will preclude other employment by the lawyer
(3) the fee customarily charged in the locality for similar legal services
Ch. 3 fees and billing
10
R. 1.5 - A Reasonable Fee
(4) the amount involved and the results obtained;
(5) the time limitations imposed by the client or by the circumstances
Ch. 3 fees and billing
11
R. 1.5 - A Reasonable Fee
(6) the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client;
(7) the experience, reputation, and ability of the lawyer or lawyers performing the services
Ch. 3 fees and billing
12
R. 1.5 - A Reasonable Fee
(8) whether the fee is fixed or contingent.
Ch. 3 fees and billing
13
