4 ms·

The $70k / week figure given is for the first two weeks. I'm going to jump to a conclusion and say that the first two weeks will be above average in cost due to

The $70k / week figure given is for the first two weeks. I'm going to jump to a conclusion and say that the first two weeks will be above average in cost due to introductory meetings, posturing on both sides, and generally bringing the process up to speed. The $1,100 / hour is not out of line for a top law firm. It would be interesting to know what Apple is paying it's outside attorneys. The claim that the figure is "higher than Apple has ever encountered for any task" is clearly untrue. Apple has payed it's own executives much more in the past.

rpedela 13y ago
I think it is implied that "any task" means "any legal task". $1100/hour is definitely the highest I have ever heard of for a lawyer, much higher.
- kumarm 13y ago
  How About Apple publishing their lawyer fees to prove $1100/hour is high? Not going to happen. Why?
  - kanzure 13y ago
    Because then competitors know how much of Apple's time they have to waste (in court) to produce a certain amount of Apple legal expenses.
    - criley2 13y ago
      Any competitor with the clout the "punish" Apple, getting them to fold, already pays as much or more than Apple for their own team.
      - deleted 13y ago
        [deleted]
  - MaysonL 13y ago
    They say in their complaint that 1100 + 15% is higher than any lawyer has ever been paid in any Apple matter. From the complaint: As Apple explained to Mr. Bromwich, of all known past Apple matters, “not a single partner had an effective billing rate as high as or higher than those that [Mr. Bromwich has] proposed.” ... . And Mr. Bromwich’s rates in this matter dramatically exceed what he has quoted in the past.
- Zigurd 13y ago
  Two high-profile lawyers and three others for 40 billable hours per week comes to a about $350/hr on average. Assuming the the two top lawyers are billed at at around $500/hr, it's probably less than 40 billable hours/week, and the rest of the team is fairly priced. Apple seems to be posturing.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - ktsmith 13y ago
    The complaint lays out what's being paid and dvanduzer pointed out below the $1100/hr figure is just for Bromwhich, his staff is an additional $1025/hr. I don't think anyone would find that to be reasonable.
    - gamblor956 13y ago
      I find it perfectly reasonable. Apple broke the law, and is now required to pay for a monitor to make sure they comply. For a business as big as Apple, you don't select a garden-variety lawyer, you pick the best you can--and the best are expensive. The top bankruptcy lawyer in the country has offices down the street from mine--his hourly rate starts at $1200. One of the top immigration lawyers in the country also has offices nearby, three of their partners have hourly billing rates in excess of $1000/hour. This is, in practice, no different from Google, et. al., paying through the nose to acquire top tech/programming talent.
      - sigzero 13y ago
        You find it perfectly reasonable because 1) it's not you and 2) you have no idea if it is or not. I find it totally unreasonable. I think the Judge needs to be investigated for deciding the case before trial and changing the scope of the investigation.
        DannyBee 13y ago
        " I think the Judge needs to be investigated for deciding the case " The judge did no such thing. This has been gone over before. Judges commonly give opinions on the current strength of a case when asked by parties. This is to encourage parties to settle. IE they will often say "you may have a tough time proving X given the evidence you've submitted so far". This is an opinion on the strength of a case as it exists at the current. Not a decision about the merits. The judge had mountains of evidence and motions that had been gone through at that point. Heck, I think there were even motions for summary judgement pending (IE for a verdict before trial). What happened is perfectly normal, and not "deciding a case".
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- hkhanna 13y ago
  The highest paid lawyer that I have ever met bills $1600/hr. Ted Olson is a famous former Solicitor General. He argued Bush v. Gore and the recent Proposition 8 case. He now works for a major national law firm in their DC office. Kind of funny to think when he looks at a clock for 2 seconds, that's $1 right there. But he's highly experienced and a very good appellate litigator. You wouldn't hire him unless it was high stakes litigation and the legal fees were little compared to what you might lose in a judgment against you.
  - FireBeyond 13y ago
    Technically, it's not. Since he would most likely, as most corporate legal does, bill in 6 minute increments, it's $160. That being said, 15 years ago I worked in high end corporate law, and our partners charged $750/hr+. I'm hardly surprised that $1,100/hr is being charged now, especially when it includes overheads.
- bound008 13y ago
  Any task in this case means any hourly pay. Employees and executives don't get paid hourly. Executives don't have a task to complete.
malandrew 13y ago
I don't understand why, if they are footing the bill, that they are required to hire a top tier law firm. This is a government granted monopoly to someone who was not selected via a competitive bidding process. The government should provide Apple a list of acceptable, competent attorneys who can do this work and let Apple work out the details.
- jljljl 13y ago
  >>> The government should provide Apple a list of acceptable, competent attorneys who can do this work and let Apple work out the details. That seems like it would create an obvious conflict of interest. The attorney in question is responsible for ensuring that Apple is complying with the anti-trust ruling. If Apple could directly choose the attorney, there would be an incentive for the attorney to be lax with ensuring compliance.
  - malandrew 13y ago
    True. TBH any arrangement where Apple pays the attorneys directly is weird. The government should have simply hired the attorney and billed Apple instead of having the attorney bill Apple.

rpedela 13y ago

I think it is implied that "any task" means "any legal task". $1100/hour is definitely the highest I have ever heard of for a lawyer, much higher.

kumarm 13y ago
How About Apple publishing their lawyer fees to prove $1100/hour is high? Not going to happen. Why?
- kanzure 13y ago
  Because then competitors know how much of Apple's time they have to waste (in court) to produce a certain amount of Apple legal expenses.
  - criley2 13y ago
    Any competitor with the clout the "punish" Apple, getting them to fold, already pays as much or more than Apple for their own team.
    - deleted 13y ago
      [deleted]
- MaysonL 13y ago
  They say in their complaint that 1100 + 15% is higher than any lawyer has ever been paid in any Apple matter. From the complaint: As Apple explained to Mr. Bromwich, of all known past Apple matters, “not a single partner had an effective billing rate as high as or higher than those that [Mr. Bromwich has] proposed.” ... . And Mr. Bromwich’s rates in this matter dramatically exceed what he has quoted in the past.
Zigurd 13y ago
Two high-profile lawyers and three others for 40 billable hours per week comes to a about $350/hr on average. Assuming the the two top lawyers are billed at at around $500/hr, it's probably less than 40 billable hours/week, and the rest of the team is fairly priced. Apple seems to be posturing.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- ktsmith 13y ago
  The complaint lays out what's being paid and dvanduzer pointed out below the $1100/hr figure is just for Bromwhich, his staff is an additional $1025/hr. I don't think anyone would find that to be reasonable.
  - gamblor956 13y ago
    I find it perfectly reasonable. Apple broke the law, and is now required to pay for a monitor to make sure they comply. For a business as big as Apple, you don't select a garden-variety lawyer, you pick the best you can--and the best are expensive. The top bankruptcy lawyer in the country has offices down the street from mine--his hourly rate starts at $1200. One of the top immigration lawyers in the country also has offices nearby, three of their partners have hourly billing rates in excess of $1000/hour. This is, in practice, no different from Google, et. al., paying through the nose to acquire top tech/programming talent.
    - sigzero 13y ago
      You find it perfectly reasonable because 1) it's not you and 2) you have no idea if it is or not. I find it totally unreasonable. I think the Judge needs to be investigated for deciding the case before trial and changing the scope of the investigation.
      - DannyBee 13y ago
        " I think the Judge needs to be investigated for deciding the case " The judge did no such thing. This has been gone over before. Judges commonly give opinions on the current strength of a case when asked by parties. This is to encourage parties to settle. IE they will often say "you may have a tough time proving X given the evidence you've submitted so far". This is an opinion on the strength of a case as it exists at the current. Not a decision about the merits. The judge had mountains of evidence and motions that had been gone through at that point. Heck, I think there were even motions for summary judgement pending (IE for a verdict before trial). What happened is perfectly normal, and not "deciding a case".
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
hkhanna 13y ago
The highest paid lawyer that I have ever met bills $1600/hr. Ted Olson is a famous former Solicitor General. He argued Bush v. Gore and the recent Proposition 8 case. He now works for a major national law firm in their DC office. Kind of funny to think when he looks at a clock for 2 seconds, that's $1 right there. But he's highly experienced and a very good appellate litigator. You wouldn't hire him unless it was high stakes litigation and the legal fees were little compared to what you might lose in a judgment against you.
- FireBeyond 13y ago
  Technically, it's not. Since he would most likely, as most corporate legal does, bill in 6 minute increments, it's $160. That being said, 15 years ago I worked in high end corporate law, and our partners charged $750/hr+. I'm hardly surprised that $1,100/hr is being charged now, especially when it includes overheads.
bound008 13y ago
Any task in this case means any hourly pay. Employees and executives don't get paid hourly. Executives don't have a task to complete.

malandrew 13y ago

I don't understand why, if they are footing the bill, that they are required to hire a top tier law firm. This is a government granted monopoly to someone who was not selected via a competitive bidding process. The government should provide Apple a list of acceptable, competent attorneys who can do this work and let Apple work out the details.

jljljl 13y ago
>>> The government should provide Apple a list of acceptable, competent attorneys who can do this work and let Apple work out the details. That seems like it would create an obvious conflict of interest. The attorney in question is responsible for ensuring that Apple is complying with the anti-trust ruling. If Apple could directly choose the attorney, there would be an incentive for the attorney to be lax with ensuring compliance.
- malandrew 13y ago
  True. TBH any arrangement where Apple pays the attorneys directly is weird. The government should have simply hired the attorney and billed Apple instead of having the attorney bill Apple.