Law firm’s ‘final bill’ asks for $9.75 million

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted July 23, 2020 10:37 AM

The final bill Grund & Leavitt P.C. submitted to Richard Stephenson — after he reportedly paid $3.74 million for hourly work in a marriage dissolution case — asked for $9.75 million under a fee agreement with an “enhancement provision” that was crafted to pass muster under Rule 1.5 of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct, as interpreted by In re Marriage of Malec, 205 Ill. App. 3d 273 (1990).Rule 1.5(d) says: “A lawyer shall not enter into an arrangement for, charge, or collect: (1) any fee in a domestic …

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