A recent NLJ story, “Firm says its Fee in Beverly Hills Divorce Will Hit $1 Million” reports that lawyers at Knowles Collum, LLP in Beverly Hills are touting a judge’s fee award of $1 million in legal fees as one of the largest granted in a divorce case prior to trial.  “This is a large fee award by any standard, even for a large firm,” said Micheal Collum, who represents Kathrin Saadian in her divorce.  Most fee awards in similar divorce cases have been closer to $250,000 to $500,000, Collum added.

But George Saadian’s attorney, Michael Abrams of the Law Offices of Michael L. Abrams in Los Angeles threw cold water on the firm’s news.  Abrams noted that a large portion of the attorney fees depend on whether the firm is able to obtain a loan on the couple’s Beverly Hills home, valued at $2.7 million.  Abrams also pointed out that the legal fees in another pending high-profile divorce between Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and his wife are expected to exceed $19 million on each side.  “That’s an enormous estate compared to this one,” Collum conceded of the McCourt case.