Every year, NALFA announces the nation’s top attorney fee experts. Attorney fee experts are judicially qualified experts who provide expert testimony on the reasonableness of attorney fees and expenses in underlying cases. Attorney fee experts also include court adjuncts such as bankruptcy fee examiners, special fee masters, and fee dispute neutrals. Attorney fee experts are often retained by fee-seeking and fee-challenging parties to independently prove attorney fees and expenses in court or arbitration.
We help organize and recognize qualified attorney fee experts from across the U.S. and around the globe. The following profile quotes are based on bio, CV, case summaries, and case materials provided to NALFA. Here are the nation’s top attorney fee experts of 2017:
John D. O’Connor: “Nation’s Top Attorney Fee Expert”
O’Connor & Associates
San Francisco, CA
Andre E. Jardini: “30 Years of Fee Audit and Expert Experience”
KPC Legal Audit Services
Glendale, CA
Stephen J. Herman: "Outstanding Skills Assessing Attorney Fees in Class Actions"
Herman Herman & Katz
New Orleans, LA
Gary E. Mason: “Highly Skilled on a Range of Fee and Billing Issues”
Whitfield Bryson & Mason
Washington, DC
Robert M. Fishman: "Nation's Top Bankruptcy Fee Examiner"
Shaw Fishman
Chicago, IL
Nancy B. Rapoport: "Outstanding Record as a Bankruptcy Fee Examiner"
UNLV Boyd School of Law
Las Vegas, NV
Kerrie Rosati: "Great Skills Resolving Fee Disputes Between Parties"
DGT Costs Lawyers
Sydney, Australia
Elise S. Frejka: "Widely Respected as a Bankruptcy Fee Examiner"
Frejka PLLC
New York , NY
Robert L. Kaufman: “Experienced on Cumis Counsel Fees and Billings”
Woodruff Spradlin & Smart
Costa Mesa, CA
Glenn Newberry: “Understands Legal Billing Issues Across Borders”
Eversheds Sutherland
London, United Kingdom
George F. Indest: “Excellent on Attorney Fee Issues in Florida”
Health Law Firm
Altamore Springs, FL
Blog post note: NALFA did reach out to other self-described attorney fee experts prior to this announcement. They declined to participate and/or denied Best Practices in Legal Fee Analysis.
For the record, Steven A. Tasher of Wyatt Partners in Berkeley Heights, NJ threatened legal action against NALFA over the original email version of this blog post. Also, Mari Henry Leigh of Leigh-galese Legal Cost Consulting LLC in Barrington, IL said, through her attorney (John M. Fitzgerald, Partner, Tabet DiVito Rothstein) that she always follows best practices. Speaking on her behalf, the attorney would not specify what best practices. Mari later stated that her following these ethical principles would somehow promote NALFA.
Because of this blog post, NALFA has now included a comment section, so now all are free to comment publicly.