The days of being able to say goodbye to $300,000 or more without blinking an eye are gone. You’ve got to have a good reason for writing off six- or seven-figure legal fees. Unless there has been an oversight, a problem with the representation or some other policy reason not to pursue it, you’re seeing more claims to be pursued.
— Abraham Reich, chair emeritus of Fox Rothschild, speaking generally on the trend of fee disputes within the legal industry. In recent years, not only has litigation to recoup legal fees increased, but so too has the amount of money contested in these suits. “There was a period of time when people would say, ‘I’m not pursuing a legal claim. Let’s just walk away from it,’” Reich, who advises law firms in malpractice suits, said. “But [law firms] are becoming more of a business. And if the fee is large enough, we do a pretty deep analysis of the nature of representation and the issues of whether there could be a potential claim for malpractice.”
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.
