ETHICS & ATTORNEY'S FEES CASES

• Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP v. Sutton
• Shimko v. Guenther
• King & King Chartered vs. Harbert Int'l, Inc.

U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, October 12, 2007
Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP v. Sutton, No. 06-3778
In a securities fraud class action, attorney's fees for the lead plaintiff's attorney are vacated and remanded where the district court failed to approximate what the market would have paid the lawyers for their services had they negotiated their fee at the beginning of the case. Read more...

U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, October 12, 2007
Shimko v. Guenther, No. 05-16847
A judgment awarding almost $360,000 in attorneys' fees to an attorney and his law firm in payment for certain legal services allegedly provided to certain Arizona limited partnerships is reversed in part and remanded as plaintiffs could not recover from defendants-limited partner and wife the legal fees owed by the LPs since: 1) because plaintiff owed a fiduciary duty of care to its clients, it was chargeable under the facts of this case with knowledge of the contents of the LPs' organic documents, whether or not it actually examined them; and 2) consequently, it was not reasonable for plaintiff to believe that defendant was a general partner of either of the LPs. Read more...

U.S. D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, October 12, 2007
King & King Chartered vs. Harbert Int'l, Inc., No. 06-7119
In a suit by a law firm for quantum meruit and tortious interference related to a client's decision not to pursue a case entered into by the law firm on a contingency basis, dismissal of the claims is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff did not identify a third party who interfered with the contingent-fee agreement; and 2) a client's choice to discontinue a case because of his reasonable assessment that there is no chance of recovery precludes quantum meruit recovery. Read more...