Concurrent Negotiation of Substantive Relief and Fees in Public Agency Cases Is Allowable.
Adam W. Hofmann, an attorney in the San Francisco office of Hanson Bridgett, has written an article entitled “Negotiating Attorneys Fees” in the January 2011 edition of The California Lawyer. In it, he explains that California cases expressly reject any blanket prohibition against concurrent negotiation of substantive relief and fees, citing Ramirez v. Sturdevant, 21 Cal.App.4th 904, 919-920 (1994) and applying it to civil rights/private attorney general cases. He does write that many plaintiffs’ counsel appear to split substantive relief and fee negotiations, but suggests that in settlements with public agencies negotiations should proceed concurrently on both these issues. He ends with this paragraph: “And don’t forget: In a case where the court must approve a settlement, a fairness hearing may be the best protection of all, and for all.”
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