Reply brief in McDonald v. Chicago

[wash]

Well, he is asking for more than the market rate if you read that article all the way to the end.

He's asking for double and then some.

I think it's well deserved.

[Merle]

Lawyers & firms also perform so many hours of pro bono work. Find a large enough firm and argue not only the merits of the case, but the potential free press and you may have a firm sign up for free.

[hoffmang]

Sorry, fevered conspiracy theories don't interest me much.

How to put this? There are elements of truth in the concern.

-Gene

[jdberger]

Heller team asked for $3.5mil
If you win a milestone case, you're reimbursed well above market rates so up-front cash is not as critical.

The article's assumption of "market rates" is blinkered, at best.

[wash]

I didn't see the article mention anything about market rates, just Gura's billing rate of $557.00 an hour.

I know of several lawyers that bill at over $400.00 an hour doing patent litigation. I think Gura is doing something at least equally as difficult and much more important. $557 is not extraordinary by any means.

Asking for double seems reasonable since that fee enhancement is in section 1988.

Asking for more just makes sense because the worst that can happen is they say no...

Of course D.C. will try to pay nothing if they think they can get away with it.

[jdberger]

I didn't see the article mention anything about market rates, just Gura's billing rate of $557.00 an hour.

I know of several lawyers that bill at over $400.00 an hour doing patent litigation. I think Gura is doing something at least equally as difficult and much more important. $557 is not extraordinary by any means.

Asking for double seems reasonable since that fee enhancement is in section 1988.

Asking for more just makes sense because the worst that can happen is they say no...

Of course D.C. will try to pay nothing if they think they can get away with it.

Right. My mistake.

I commented before I read the article. I was assuming that the reference was to this one.

[7x57]

How to put this? There are elements of truth in the concern.

What bothers me is not elements of truth--it is no secret that the various organizations have issues with how the others operate. So do I, frankly, though my public criticisms I think stick to their effectiveness as 2A advocates and their degree of cannibalistic fundraising by simply attacking other 2A organzations.

What bothers me is that simple statements like that are inevitably construed to match the GOA sort of "the NRA has sold us out" meme. It's widespread enough that I think it twists such conversations quite a bit. Anyway, because of that sort of muddling of the dialog I was asking for concrete information about this particular situation, as opposed to general inferences based on assumptions about the organizations involved.

Of course, it might not exist.

ETA: shall we savor a rare moment of me thinking more politically and you thinking more nitpickingly precise, rather than the reverse as is our custom?

7x57

[Maestro Pistolero]

just Gura's billing rate of $557.00 an hour

I love Gura, but why $557? Why not $550 or even $560? What is the odd seven bucks for, and how is a number like that arrived at? Just asking.

[wash]

Gura will charge you his minimum fee to explain it to you...

[7x57]

Gura will charge you his minimum fee to explain it to you...

But I'll do it for free. 557 is a nice round prime number, and being a man of taste and intellect Alan would eschew charging a lesser, composite number. Further, the previous prime is 547 and the next is 563, so there is a six dollar or more difference between them. The original complaint was that it wasn't a round number, so clearly it takes at least $5 intervals to be significant. Therefore, these primes differ meaningfully, and he has to choose one of them. Clearly his time is worth more than $547, but not quite so much as $563.

With as much exposure and practice as he's getting, I imagine that he'll soon be able to bump his fee up to $563 or even all the way to $569. Better ask your questions while his time is still a bargain!

7x57

[Python2]

I love Gura, but why $557? Why not $550 or even $560? What is the odd seven bucks for, and how is a number like that arrived at? Just asking.

He prolly started at $300 when he started his practice then added cost of living increases every year. That is how I came up with my own current billing rates.

[yellowfin]

Wouldn't it be more appropriate for Gura's rate to be $556 an hour? Maybe the Sullivan Law and NFA repealing suit will cost $7.62 million.

[hoffmang]

ETA: shall we savor a rare moment of me thinking more politically and you thinking more nitpickingly precise, rather than the reverse as is our custom?

Actually we're in the land of me being too close to the issue with too many confidences to really explain it on the record. My hope is that I never have to explain it...

However, you are quite correct on one aspect. It's not tinfoil hat types of things. It's a pretty standard set of behaviours of any large organization facing a changing landscape. Sometimes the people you needed during one era are different than who you need in a newer era.

-Gene

[bulgron]

But I'll do it for free. 557 is a nice round prime number, and being a man of taste and intellect Alan would eschew charging a lesser, composite number.

Hmmm... So does this mean, then, that if the anti's ever win one of these lawsuits (god forbid), they should get paid in multiples of irrational numbers?