Group items tagged

Suits for Unpaid Legal Fees in Top 10 for Stupidity, Lawyer Says Posted Sep 30, 2009, 07:06 am CDT By Debra Cassens Weiss A lawyer who represents a company sued for unpaid legal fees says such claims aren't a good idea. Lawyer Warren Trazenfeld represents Whitney Information Network, sued by the Florida law firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, allegedly for failing to pay more than $400,000 in legal bills, the Daily Business Review reports. Trazenfeld told the publication he is planning to file a malpractice counterclaim. Suing a client is "one of the top 10 stupidest things a lawyer can do," he said. The story asserts the case is one of a growing number of instances in which law firms are suing clients for unpaid bills. "Most clients think the best defense is a good offense, and there's no better offense than a counterclaim for legal malpractice," Trazenfeld told the Daily Business Review. Another law firm that recently filed suit for unpaid fees is Ruden McClosky, the story says. Last week the firm filed suit claiming nearly $40,000 in unpaid legal bills by the father of retired pro quarterback Bernie Kosar. Ruden managing director Carl Schuster acknowledged that some malpractice claims have merit, but said clients often file them as a settlement tool in fee cases. "They obviously haven't paid the bill so that's not a defense, so they have to think up a defense," he told the Daily Business Review.

[Uh, also in the top 10 would be allowing a client to run up a $400,000 tab in these troubled times.] Suits for Unpaid Legal Fees in Top 10 for Stupidity, Lawyer Says Posted Sep 30, 2009, 07:06 am CDT By Debra Cassens Weiss A lawyer who represents a company sued for unpaid legal fees says such claims aren't a good idea. Lawyer Warren Trazenfeld represents Whitney Information Network, sued by the Florida law firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, allegedly for failing to pay more than $400,000 in legal bills, the Daily Business Review reports. Trazenfeld told the publication he is planning to file a malpractice counterclaim. Suing a client is "one of the top 10 stupidest things a lawyer can do," he said. The story asserts the case is one of a growing number of instances in which law firms are suing clients for unpaid bills. "Most clients think the best defense is a good offense, and there's no better offense than a counterclaim for legal malpractice," Trazenfeld told the Daily Business Review. Another law firm that recently filed suit for unpaid fees is Ruden McClosky, the story says. Last week the firm filed suit claiming nearly $40,000 in unpaid legal bills by the father of retired pro quarterback Bernie Kosar. Ruden managing director Carl Schuster acknowledged that some malpractice claims have merit, but said clients often file them as a settlement tool in fee cases. "They obviously haven't paid the bill so that's not a defense, so they have to think up a defense," he told the Daily Business Review.

# Posted by tng - 2 days, 1 hour, 26 minutes ago Yawn, another lame ABA article. Those 4800 law students should count themselves lucky that they had a summer associate position and the potential for a job offer (not to forget the 2k a week in compensation)... because there were another approximately 30,000 law students who did not win the "summer associate lottery" and work for a firm and get paid. Those some odd 30,000 other law students had to scrambled, beg, and plea for whatever unpaid internship they could find and take on another…say 20k in debt so they could live this past summer. Practically all of those 30,000 law students never had a the hopeful chance that they would get some offer of employment for a job that actually will enable them to pay off those student loans and no live in debt slavery. No, those other 30,000 law students now get to start their 3rd year heavily in debt with practically zero job prospects when they graduate. Time for law students to look for non-legal jobs…they better cruise those undergraduate job fairs. Flag this comment # Posted by JN - 1 day, 18 hours, 10 minutes ago Once again, I hope the clients of these biglaw firms realize what their legal bills are paying for. Is it ridiculous to encourage people making 2000 per week to be able to afford their own lunch? C'mon. The fact that this business model didn't die long ago amazes me. Flag this comment # Posted by annie - 4 hours, 9 minutes ago I would take my summer associate job where I worked with seven seasoned attorneys for the summer with little perks - didn't expect them - and lots of work over these cushy summer internships. I learned a lot that summer and the next fall, they continued to send me work at law school at a pretty decent hourly wage. Anyway, my apparent lack of entitlement made it possible for me to find my own clients and open a little office when I was laid off my first law job. I now work for a small firm. And I enjoyed a nice pean

# Posted by tng - 2 days, 1 hour, 26 minutes ago Yawn, another lame ABA article. Those 4800 law students should count themselves lucky that they had a summer associate position and the potential for a job offer (not to forget the 2k a week in compensation)... because there were another approximately 30,000 law students who did not win the "summer associate lottery" and work for a firm and get paid. Those some odd 30,000 other law students had to scrambled, beg, and plea for whatever unpaid internship they could find and take on another…say 20k in debt so they could live this past summer. Practically all of those 30,000 law students never had a the hopeful chance that they would get some offer of employment for a job that actually will enable them to pay off those student loans and no live in debt slavery. No, those other 30,000 law students now get to start their 3rd year heavily in debt with practically zero job prospects when they graduate. Time for law students to look for non-legal jobs…they better cruise those undergraduate job fairs. Flag this comment # Posted by JN - 1 day, 18 hours, 10 minutes ago Once again, I hope the clients of these biglaw firms realize what their legal bills are paying for. Is it ridiculous to encourage people making 2000 per week to be able to afford their own lunch? C'mon. The fact that this business model didn't die long ago amazes me. Flag this comment # Posted by annie - 4 hours, 9 minutes ago I would take my summer associate job where I worked with seven seasoned attorneys for the summer with little perks - didn't expect them - and lots of work over these cushy summer internships. I learned a lot that summer and the next fall, they continued to send me work at law school at a pretty decent hourly wage. Anyway, my apparent lack of entitlement made it possible for me to find my own clients and open a little office when I was laid off my first law job. I now work for a small firm. And I enjoyed a nice pean