The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Judge Cuts Fees for Plaintiffs' Lawyers in LivingSocial Settlement

Citing inefficient staffing and high hourly rates, U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle slashed attorney fees in half for plaintiffs' lawyers in multi-district litigation against daily deal company LivingSocial.

In a March 22 opinion approving a settlement between consumers and LivingSocial over expired deals, Huvelle awarded $1.35 million in fees to the 12 law firms that represented the plaintiffs, instead of the $3 million they asked for as part of the settlement. Co-lead plaintiffs' counsel at Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca and Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd did not immediately return requests for comment.

LivingSocial spokesman Andrew Weinstein said in a statement that the company was "pleased to have brought this litigation to a conclusion, so we can focus all of our efforts on creating great local experiences for our customers." The company was represented by a team from Cooley; lead attorneys Michael Rhodes and Christopher Durbin were not available this morning to comment.

Language Access Advocates Call for Greater State Court Coordination

In the year since the American Bar Association adopted new guidelines for language access in the courts, proponents said today that although there's been progress, court systems nationwide can do much more to ensure all litigants understand what's happening when they step inside a courthouse.

Leading a panel on language access at the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts' annual conference, District of Columbia Court of Appeals Senior Judge Vanessa Ruiz said that the cost of services is always the "big elephant in the room." But Ruiz and other panelists urged court administrators to not only consider the cost of expanding services, but also the costs of not doing so – staff resources needed to handle case delays or appeals, for instance.

"Justice is resource-intensive," Ruiz said.

House Republicans: Fast and Furious Settlement Talks 'Waste' of Time

Updated at 1:42 p.m.

After several months of trading settlement offers, House Republicans filed notice Friday with a District of Columbia federal judge that they believe Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. "is not serious" about reaching an agreement to release information on a controversial gun trafficking operation and that future talks "would be a waste of everyone's time."

Holder, in the same status report filed with U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, wasn't as pessimistic. He indicated that the U.S. Department of Justice was prepared to continue negotiating and that it would accept Jackson's previous suggestion of mediation with U.S. District Senior Judge Barbara Rothstein. Rothstein is a visiting judge from the Western District of Washington.

This afternoon, however, Jackson ordered the parties to mediation with Rothstein. She didn’t offer any explanation, except to say that she had considered what both sides said in the status report. If the parties don’t reach a settlement by April 22, Jackson is scheduled to hear arguments on the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss on April 24.

D.C. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Interested in Third Term

District of Columbia Court of Appeals Chief Judge Eric Washington is interested in a third term leading the city's highest local court, according to an announcement today from the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission.

Washington's second four-year term will expire in August. He isn't guaranteed redesignation however – any regular active judge on the appeals court is eligible to apply. Washington, along with any other judge interested in the job, will have to submit a statement of interest by April 15.

Lawyers, members of the public, and organizations can also nominate a judge for the position, according to the commission, but they have to first get the judge's consent. The commission will accept letters or recommendation or endorsements through May 15 and offer an opportunity for public comment on the candidates once they've applied.

Federal Government, Courts Close for Snow

If you have to ask, it's probably closed. As a major snow storm picked up around the metropolitan Washington region this morning, government workers (and many others) prepared for a day at home.

The federal government is closed. The U.S. District Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, and U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia are closed. The U.S. District Courts in Maryland are closed, although according to the courts' website one civil trial before U.S. District Judge Marvin Garbis in Baltimore will proceed as scheduled. The federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va., is closed.

Lawyers can still file documents with the courts electronically, but case processing – assigning case numbers and judges to new cases, for instance – won't take place until the courts and clerks' offices reopen.

The Morning Wrap

March Agenda: Congress doesn't intend to reverse across-the-board spending cuts that took effect Friday, The Washington Post reports. But it is hoping to avert a government shutdown that could happen by the end of the month.

Wiping Away: U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Francisco on Friday took away roughly $450 million of the $1.05 billion in damages a jury awarded last August to Apple Inc. in its smartphone patent war against Samsung Electronics Co., The Recorder reports. The award stood as one of the largest ever in a patent infringement case.

OMB Chief: President Barack Obama will tap Sylvia Mathews Burwell as the next director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Politico reports. Burwell is the president of the Walmart Foundation.

Covington & Burling's Gross Revenue Grew by 6.4 Percent in 2012

Covington & Burling saw another steady year of growth in 2012, posting a 6.4 percent jump in gross revenue and a 5.4 percent increase in profits per partner, according to our reporting. Firm chair Timothy Hester said that it was an especially good year for the firm's litigation, corporate and transactional, and life sciences practices.

The firm's gross revenue grew from $611 million in 2011 to $650 million last year. Net income increased by 9.4 percent and crossed the $300 million mark, growing from $275.5 million in 2011 to $301.5 million last year. Revenue per lawyer went up by 1.7 percent, from $865,000 in 2011 to $880,000 last year.

"I think it reflects the ongoing strategic plan that we've had in place for a number of years where we've been focused on solid steady growth in the firm and focused on some of the things that we believe we're doing exceptionally well in terms of practice areas," Hester said. "Our very strong patent litigation, insurance, white collar and products liability practices were all up last year."

The Morning Wrap

Oil Spill: The civil trial against BP PLC over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill is starting on Monday in New Orleans, The Times-Picayune reports.

Sunday Blessing: Speaking at his last Sunday blessing as pope, Benedict XVI told Catholics he won't abandon them when he resigns, The New York Times reports. "On the contrary, if God asks me, this is because I can continue to serve" the church "with the same dedication and the same love which I have tried to do so until now, but in a way more suitable to my age and to my strength," Benedict said.

Sandy Help: Several lawyers in parts of Long Island hit by Hurricane Sandy are applying their expertise to assist their neighbors pro bono, even as they continue to deal with their own challenges, the New York Law Journal reports. "I try to let them know they're not alone," Long Island attorney Tracey Discepolo said. "I'm in the same boat."

McGuireWoods Posts Growth in Gross Revenue in 2012

McGuireWoods saw another year of steady growth, posting around a 5 percent increase in gross revenue and profits per partner in 2012, according to our reporting.

The firm's gross revenue grew 5.6 percent, from $567.5 million in 2011 to $599.5 million in 2012. Profits per partner increased by five percent, from $900,000 in 2011 to $945,000 last year. Managing partner Thomas Cabaniss said the growth was evenly distributed firm-wide.

"We've had a pretty good track record of increasing our revenue and we really do focus on that in all areas," Cabaniss said. "It's not one case, it's not one department, it's not one thing. It requires focus across the board."

Judge Denies New Trial in Armenian Genocide Museum Dispute

More than a decade after efforts began to build a museum memorializing the mass slaughter of Armenians during World War I, litigation over the failure of those efforts has consumed everyone involved. Yesterday, a Washington federal judge denied a motion for a new trial in the dispute and ordered the plaintiffs to pay the defendants $1.4 million in fees and costs.

Minnesota philanthropist and businessman Gerard Cafesjian tangled for years with museum trustees over who was to blame for the project's failure and what should happen to buildings Cafesjian donated to house the museum. Following a bench trial, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found that the buildings should return to Cafesjian. Yesterday, she denied the trustees' motion for another trial.

Over the trustees' objections, she also ordered them to pay Cafesjian $1.4 million in fees and costs, a figure based on recommendations from U.S. District Magistrate Judge Alan Kay. Cafesjian's legal team was led by Jones Day attorneys.