Aashish Y. Desai of Mower, Carreon & Desai, LLP in Irvine, California was a panelist at the ABA’s Labor and Employment Law Conference held on November 5, 2010 in Chicago.  His article, “Attorney Fees: Ethical Issues, When and How to Negotiate, and Fee Petitions” (pdf) discusses attorney fee awards in Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) actions.  Desai writes:

“This paper will discuss practical theories surrounding fee applications and some of the common conflict scenarios that can arrive in negotiating attorney’s fees in a class environment.  In particular, the attorney’s loyalty to the client may be compromised by the attorney’s desire to secure compensation for services.  This, naturally, gives rise to a potential conflict in the class action context.  But as will be shown, the conflict is more theoretical than practical.”