A Law Firm That's Out of This World (at least, its fees are)
As lawyers, we all want our work to be regarded as "out of this world" - but just not in this way. According to this article, South Gate Chases Legal Firms, LA Times (1/23/05), a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, ruling that the law firm of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton had overcharged its municipal client, described the firm's fees as:
were more than excessive and unreasonable, transcending beyond the stratosphere into deep outer space," Shook wrote in his opinion.
The city had already paid $551,837 to defend Robles, its former treasurer
and the firm was seeking $445,087 more that it said it was due. But the judge found that the city
should not have been charged more than $150,000 for the defense of Robles.
In October, another judge ruled that Sheppard had to repay the city $517,000 in legal fees related to defending Robles in a separate criminal investigation.
One of the worst things about the practice of law, and those who seek to regulate it, is the acceptance of the billable hour, and the vilification of the flat fee or, gasp, the contingent fee. Billable hours reward inefficiency and discourage settlement. Billable hours foster no relationship between compensation and results. Flat and contingent fees do.