Trial Starts in $8.5 Million Sonnenschein Case

By Marisa McQuilken

Opening statements in the $8.5 million trial of Douglas Rosenthal vs. Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal began this morning in D.C. Superior Court before Judge Melvin Wright. The breach of contract case involves Sonnenschein’s partnership agreement with antitrust lawyer Rosenthal — specifically whether the former partner was fairly compensated for his work. (Rosenthal, by the way, is not the partner referenced in the firm’s name.)

In the complaint, filed in 2005, Rosenthal claims he was forced into retirement by Sonnenschein. He alleges the firm breached its partnership agreement by underpaying him for his representation of the families of those killed in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Rosenthal says that work brought the firm a windfall of $17 million. He also points to work he did for Sun Microsystems that he says resulted in $20 million in fees for the firm. Legal Times has more about the
case here.

In an earlier ruling on summary judgment motions, Judge Wright threw out Rosenthal’s claim that he was forced to retire, but the jury will get to decide whether the ex-partner (who now works at Constantine Cannon) was justly compensated for his work. Legal Times will provide updates on the trial throughout the week.