Lawyers React To Justices’ Ruling In Baker Botts Fees Case, Law360 ft. Brett A. Scher

Brett A. Scher, partner at Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck, LLP in Woodbury, NY has been quoted in a Law360 article published June 15, 2015. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that bankruptcy attorneys cannot recover money spent on defending their fee requests from challenges. He tells Law360 why the decision in Baker Botts LLP et al. v. Asarco LLC is significant.

“The Supreme Court’s ruling in Baker Botts may raise new implications for attorneys’ fee awards outside the bankruptcy world. In light of the holding, look for more defendants to argue that prevailing plaintiffs’ counsel in fee shifting cases under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act should be barred from recovering fees related to preparing fee petitions, especially when the amount of those fees is heavily disputed. We anticipate that this decision will be used as a countermeasure by defense counsel who have long feared putting their clients at risk of incurring additional attorneys’ fees when they challenge opposing counsels’ fee petition.”