Mar. 13, 2026
When does a fee cut become an amputation?
California's Supreme Court and the 9th Circuit are both reexamining how judges set attorney fees, with one ruling that small-firm lawyers deserve big-law rates and another weighing whether trial courts can slash fee awards by 30% without detailed justification.
In the land of lawyer jokes, the mock law firm Dewey, Screwem & Howe LLP practices civil law ("Suits pressed while you wait.") and criminal defense ("A reasonable doubt at a reasonable price.").
Beyond the gags lurks a cost-benefit poser: What's a reasonable price for legal services? Kidding aside, acrimonious fee fights sometimes develop as sequels to main case litigation in civil rights, consumer protection and a few other fee shifting situations wher...
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