At some point in your life — likely the snippy preteen/teenage years — you undoubtedly heard the phrase, it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. And that’s very much the lesson from Brown Rudnick partner Gerard Cicero’s attempt to increase his billing rate in a bankruptcy case from $1000 to $1500.
That 50% increase is a tough pill to swallow — and it definitely got the attention of Chief Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein:
“That’s just beyond,” said Selber Silverstein. “There may be a reason. But a 50% increase in somebody’s rates is not something any client I ever had would have accepted.”
The judge denied the request, though Brown Rudnick promised to file something with the court in defense of the hike.
But while a 50% increase is certainly notable, the total rate — $1500 an hour — isn’t. As Roy Strom notes, other lawyers in the exact same case are charging more. Sullivan & Cromwell represents the debtor, fire protection manufacturer Kidde-Fenwal, while Brown Rudnick reps unsecured creditors. An S&C partner on the case — admitted the same year as Cicero — is billing at $150 more and hour. Hell, an associate at S&C is billing at $1530 — more than Cicero’s ask.
But it’s the *way* Cicero asked for the rate bump (all at once) rather than the total amount requested that irked the judge:
Silverstein cautioned that if Cicero’s previous rate was “behind market,” the firm couldn’t “catch it all up at one time.”
“Clients that are actually paying a bill, I don’t think that’s how they think,” Silverstein said, referencing the fact that Brown Rudnick’s fees in the bankruptcy are paid out of the debtor’s pocket.
While it’s easy to hear the lesson the judge is trying to impart, it sure stinks for firms that have priced themselves below market.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
