Law Commons^™

Ethical Limits On Promising To Pay An Adverse Award Of Attorney’S Fees Against One’S Client, Chase C. Parsons

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Abstract forthcoming.

Exceptionally Vague: Attorney Fee Shifting Under The Lanham Act, Kelsie Willett

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Texas's Excessive Demand Doctrine Impacts Recoveries In Litigation., Stephanie M. Green

St. Mary's Law Journal

A party demanding money they are not entitled to becomes subject to the excessive demand doctrine. Because the excessive demand doctrine is an affirmative defense, a defending party must allege its claim of excessive demand in its pleadings. A party must “plead it, prove it, and obtain findings of fact on its essential elements.” To obtain findings on the issue, both the pleadings and the evidence are required to put a question or instruction before the jury. Ensuring that the evidence is enough depends upon the trial court—whose judgment will only be overturned upon a showing of an abuse of …

Getting Paid In Probate Court., Robert J. Augsburger

St. Mary's Law Journal

After reviewing the Texas Probate Code, the Texas Property Code, and current case law, this Essay compiles relevant information designed to assist attorneys in obtaining payment for services provided to their clients. An attorney ad litem is an officer of the court whose “fees are assessed as costs of suit” rather than requiring the ad litem to seek “fees only from his clients’ recovered shares.” Therefore, each attorney ad litem appointed under § 34A of the Texas Probate Code is entitled to reasonable compensation for services in the amount set by the court. The attorney’s fees “must be supported by …

Civil Practice And Procedure, Andrew P. Sherrod

University of Richmond Law Review

This article surveys recent and significant developments in Virginia civil practice and procedure. Specifically, the article discusses selected opinions of the Supreme Court of Virginia from September 2011 through June 2012, addressing new or meaningful civil procedure topics; significant amendments to the Rules of the Supreme Court ofVirginia concerning procedural issues during the same period; and legislation enacted by the Virginia General Assembly during the 2012 session that relates to civil practice.

Making Plaintiffs Whole: A Tax Problem Of Interest, William E. Foster

Oklahoma Law Review

This article illustrates the dramatic tax impact of interest awards in otherwise non-taxable litigation recoveries and proposes two alternative legislative solutions for the over-taxing of plaintiffs in these cases. While plaintiffs who recover personal injury awards typically receive favorable tax treatment, those who receive interest on such awards are taxed on the interest and often are not able to utilize deductions for attorney’s fees and other costs paid to obtain the award. Further, the attorney’s portion of the recovery in a contingency fee arrangement will be included in the plaintiff’s gross income. The result is that the plaintiff recovers less …

Contingent Fees In California After Fracasse V. Brent, Brian F. Gill, George A. Mealy

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

When Mira Liens Trump Attorney Fee Claims: A Harsh Result In Light Of Karpierz, Carrie B. Williamson

Missouri Law Review

The Missouri Incarceration Reimbursement Act ("MIRA") is a powerful tool which allows the State to recover incarceration costs directly from an inmate's personal assets. But what if the inmate's assets include funds obtained in some fashion by the legal services of an attorney? Could a subsequent MIRA claim take priority over that attorney's interest in being paid from the fruit of his labor? In the 2003 case of State ex reL. Nixon v. Karpierz, the Missouri Supreme Court sought to provide answers to these questions. Karpierz placed a limitation on the parameters of MIRA's reach by allowing a plaintiff inmate's …

The Tax Treatment Of Verdicts And Settlements Following The Adoption Of The Jobs Creation Act Of 2004: Paradise Found For The Employment Lawyer?, John F. Fatino

Northern Illinois University Law Review

In recent years, attorneys practicing in the employment area have found that a working knowledge of tax law is critical to maximize results for clients and to avoid malpractice. This article will examine the status of taxation of verdicts and settlements following adoption of 1996 legislation, which made various changes to the Internal Revenue Code. In addition, the article will examine the impact that the American Jobs Creation Act has had on the tax treatment of attorney fees and court costs in the context of employment litigation. Finally, the article will discuss the implications of a recent decision by the …

A Uniform Fee-Setting System For Calculating Court-Awarded Attorneys’ Fees: Combining Ex Ante Rates With A Multifactor Lodestar Method And A Performance-Based Mathematical Model, Matthew D. Klaiber

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Attorney Fees: Attorney Fees, Prevailing Parties, And Judicial Discretion In Oklahoma Practice: How It Is, How It Should Be, Jami Rhoades Antonisse

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Conceptualizing Constitutional Litigation As Anti-Government Expression: A Speech-Centered Theory Of Court Access, Robert L. Tsai

American University Law Review

This Article proposes a speech-based right of court access. First, it finds the traditional due process approach to be analytically incoherent and of limited practical value. Second, it contends that history, constitutional structure, and theory all support conceiving of the right of access as the modern analogue to the right to petition government for redress. Third, the Article explores the ways in which the civil rights plaintiff's lawsuit tracks the behavior of the traditional dissident. Fourth, by way of a case study, the essay argues that recent restrictions - notably, a congressional limitation on the amount of fees counsel for …

Income Tax: Kenseth V. Commissioner: The Assignment Of Income Doctrine And Its Misapplication To Contingent Attorney's Fees, Aubree Helvey

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Fee Payments To Criminal Defense Lawyers From Third Parties: Revisiting United States V. Hodge And Zweig, David Orentlicher

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Farrar V. Hobby: When Moral Victories Will Not Feed The Attorney, Seán W. Conley

Mercer Law Review

In Farrar v. Hobby, the Supreme Court granted "prevailing party" status, as required by 42 U.S.C § 1988, to those plaintiffs who are awarded only nominal damages. The Court rejected the Fifth Circuit's rationale that an award of nominal damages is a "technical" or "insignificant" victory and insufficient to allow prevailing party status.

Although the Court unanimously found that a party who is awarded nominal damages is a prevailing party, the Court split five to four as to what reasonable attorney fees would be in this case. Writing for the Court, Justice Thomas compared the relief sought to the …

Attorney's Fees In Common Fund Actions, Monique Lapointe

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered V. United States: Seizing Attorney Fees-Frozen Assets Or Frozen Justice? The Sixth Amendment Right To Counsel Of Choice Is Given The Cold Shoulder, Anthony G. Vella

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This note examines the United States Supreme Court decision that found confiscation of criminal defense attorney fees under RICO and the continuing criminal enterprise statutes is permissible under the sixth amendment. The Court's reasoning is presented in this note. The note analyzes the Court's decision through the eyes of the dissenters and other commentators opposed to the result. The author concludes that this decision has rendered the sixth amendment right to counsel of choice an insubstantial right and damaged the integrity of the adversary system in our courts.

Back To The Future: Use Of Percentage Fee Arrangements In Common Fund Litigation, Bennet A. Mcconaughy

Seattle University Law Review

The premise of this Article is that common fund litigation will be most efficiently and beneficially prosecuted if attorney fees are awarded under a methodology that makes parallel the interests of counsel in the fee award and of the class in the recovery. The Article examines the historical uses of the percentage fee, the development of and problems with, hourly based methods of computing fees, and the renewed trend toward the use of percentage fee awards. It concludes that, unlike hourly based methodologies, percentage fee arrangements align the interests of counsel with the interests of both the class and the …

Dormant Commerce Clause Claims Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983: Protecting The Right To Be Free Of Protectionist State Action, Gregory A. Kalscheur

Michigan Law Review

This Note will attempt to show that some commerce clause violations should give rise to cognizable section 1983 claims. Two fundamental questions will be addressed: Is the commerce clause the source of any "rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution?" and if so, Does section 1983 protect whatever "rights, privileges, or immunities" grow out of the commerce clause? Part I will describe the present status of authority on this issue and argue that none of the conflicting opinions have adequately addressed the fundamental questions involved. Part II will demonstrate that the commerce clause does indeed protect a "right[], privilege[ …

Recent Developments: Staley V. Board Of Education Of Washington County: Attorney's Fees Allowed Even Though Amount Paid In Workers' Compensation Claim Exceeded Total Sum Due Under A Modified Award, Christopher Hale

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Attorney Fees—United States Is Not Liable For Attorney Fees Under The Equal Access To Justice Act By Analogy To Section 1983, David Schoen

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Civil Litigation Cost Of Frivolous Actions, Georgia State University Law Review

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act allows for the award of reasonable attorney fees and expenses in any civil litigation against any party litigant or counsel, or both, for frivolous litigation.

A Giant Step Backwards: Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. V. Wilderness Society' And Its Effect On Public Interest Litigation

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Attorney Fees In School Desegregation Cases

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reasonable Fee And Professional Discipline, William C. Romell

Cleveland State Law Review

The question propounded by this article is - what exactly is the "reasonable" fee, and conversely under what conditions may a fee be adjudged so unreasonable that the legal profession may administer justifiable discipline to the attorney charging such a fee?

Random Thoughts On Marriage And Divorce, Samuel H. Silbert

Cleveland State Law Review

Marriage and divorce give rise to our most perplexing legal difficulties. This is partly due to social considerations. A primary cause, however, can be found in the States' Rights Doctrine as a consequence of which there has been constant confusion and a lack of uniformity in our laws. Our various states differ on when people may marry; whom they may marry; the ages at which they may marry; the residence requirements for divorce and the grounds for divorce. Thus, despite the Full Faith and Credit Clause in the United States Constitution, the decrees obtained in one state are not necessarily …

Legal Expenses As Deductions From Income, Joseph B. Lynch

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Damages - Expenses Of Litigation - Counsel Fees In A Previous Suit, Gerald M. Lively

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiffs brought this appeal from a judgment dismissing an action to recover the attorney's fees and other expenses of the prosecution of a prior suit with defendant. In the former action plaintiffs had secured a decree requiring defendant to convey to them certain property which the defendant had withheld fraudulently and maliciously. In the present action defendant successfully had moved to dismiss on the grounds that attorney's fees as between original litigants were not recoverable and further that this claim was res judicata due to the prior suit. Held, one justice dissenting as defendant's intentional and wilful misconduct necessitated …

Bills And Notes - Effect On Negotiability Of Provision For Confession Of Judgment, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A note was made providing for eighteen monthly payments, and on default of any payment, the whole amount to become due; a clause was inserted in the note authorizing confession of judgment on the note in favor of the holder "at any time hereafter . . . for such amount as may appear to be unpaid thereon, together with costs and attorney's fees." Held, the provision for confession of judgment did not destroy the negotiability of the note, since it authorized confession of judgment only after default in one of the installments due. United States v. Nagorney, (D. …

The Measure Of Recovery In Actions For The Infringement Of Copyright, Julian Caplan

Michigan Law Review

Since the present federal copyright statute was enacted in 1909, and especially quite recently, there have been repeated attempts at drastic modification of the law. Certain groups contend that the present statutory provisions are not of sufficient protection to the copyright proprietor, whereas other groups contend that the extent of the protection is entirely unwarranted. One of the chief phases of controversy has involved the measure of recovery in suits for infringement. The issue is of fundamental importance, since the measure of damages determines to a large extent how effective the other provisions of the statute will be. Whether, under …