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The good news for Biglaw firm Gibson Dunn is that they won attorneys’ fees (or attorneys fees or … whatever) for their client, Peak One Investments, in a lawsuit brought by startup Social Life Network. The bad news is the award is for far less than the elite firm actually charges.
As reported by Reuters, U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles found Gibson Dunn’s rates were “unreasonable” in the local South Florida market:
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The fee ruling from Gayles upheld a report from a federal magistrate who said the rates from Gibson Dunn were above the “prevailing” amount in South Florida. Defining a market rate is a threshold question in fee disputes.
“The court’s task in a fee petition is not simply to award what a local client could be willing to pay for a given superstar lawyer,” Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres wrote in his report.
So… how much *do* they charge over at Gibson? The partners on the case, Helgi Walker out of the Washington, D.C. office and Barry Goldsmith in New York, bill out at $1,785 and $1,815 an hour, respectively. But the firm wasn’t even seeking those eye popping rate — they took a haircut in the fee request, asking for only — lol, yes, only — $900/hr. However, even that proved too rich for Miami, as the court only approved a $700/hr fee.
For their part, Gibson Dunn appears to have a very philosophical approach, focusing on the positives:
Walker in a statement on Wednesday said “the headline here is that we were successful in getting our client awarded almost $150,000 in fees for the plaintiff’s inappropriate and meritless suit.”
The statement said it was “not surprising that a national firm’s rates might be slightly reduced in a context where local market comparisons are being made.”
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And, fundamentally it is a good result for Gibson’s client. It’s also a reminder for those stuck in the Biglaw echo chamber that not everyone is willing to pay for those services.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].