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Federal Judge Critical of Firm's Fee Petition in Custody Case

BY Shannon P. Duffy
January 29, 2009

In the current economic crisis, requests for attorney fees are being examined even more closely. A federal judge has sharply rebuked a team of lawyers from Fox Rothschild for filing an “excessive” fee petition after winning an international custody case, saying their bill of more than $163,000 in fees and expenses was simply too large for a “garden variety” custody battle.

The Opinion

U.S. District Judge Lawrence F. Stengel wrote in his 11-page opinion in Clarke v. Clarke, CIVIL ACTION NO. 08-cv-690, E.D. Pa., Dec. 10, 2008, that he could not justify “an attorneys' fee award of this size in a case of this nature.” Stengel said the fee petition from Fox Rothschild “provides no real discussion of why five attorneys were necessary to present this case.”

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