WHY BIG FIRMS DON'T WORK    

So what if we lost; give us our attorney fees! -- Katz, Teller, Brant & Hild

"It just doesn't pass the smell test." That was the statement used by Aaron Morris in his closing argument to describe the way in which the defendants had manipulated things in order to avoid paying commissions to our client.  A unanimous jury agreed, and awarded our client $500,000 in damages, which grew to $725,000 with added costs, attorney fees and certain other statutory damages.  Defendants were represented by James McCarthy from the Cincinnati law firm Katz, Teller, Brant & Hild and Robert Rose from the San Diego law firm Rose & Associates.  Mr. Rose now works at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton.  For the complete story, go to Champagne Wishes and Bubble-Gum Dreams.

So how did opposing counsel deal with this devastating defeat to their clients?  We were reminded of the way Saddam Hussein claimed victory after the United States defeated him in Kuwait.  Despite our unmitigated victory, opposing counsel simply declared that defendants were the winners and sought recovery of all of their attorney fees and costs -- some $350,000.  Needless to say, we handily defeated the motion.

Undeterred, defense counsel then brought a motion claiming that defendants should somehow be exempt from posting a bond on appeal. Again, we defeated the motion.

These unsuccessful post-trial motions followed several earlier failing motions, including a motion for change of venue, a motion for summary judgment, a motion for new trial, a motion to exclude a witness, to name just a few.

This is the pattern of so many large firms.  Costly motion after costly motion with nothing to show for the effort. Often, the standard appears to be what motions can be brought as opposed to what motions can be won.  In fairness to defense counsel in this case, the motion for change of venue was within the realms of reason, and sometimes it makes sense to bring a motion for summary judgment in order to test the strength of the opposition's evidence, but the motion for attorney fees and the bond motion were pointless and expensive.  Making matters worse, the firm then appealed rulings that were clearly correct.  A client is not served by such tactics.

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Aaron P. Morris is a Partner with the law firm of Morris & Stone, LLP, located in Santa Ana, Orange County, California. He can be reached at (714) 954-0700, or amorris@toplawfirm.com.  The practice areas of Morris & Stone include employment law (wrongful termination, sexual harassment, wage/overtime claims), business litigation (breach of contract, trade secret, partnership dissolution, unfair business practices, etc.), real estate and construction disputes, first amendment law, Internet law, discrimination claims, defamation suits, and legal malpractice.