5 ms·

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.

by rpedela 13y ago

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.

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.

by 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.