A federal judge in Massachusetts recently slashed a $4.1 million attorney fee request by more than 50% due to vague billing entries submitted after the plaintiff's multimillion-dollar win in a trade-secrets dispute.

KMP Analytics North America Corp., represented primarily by two midsize Boston firms, asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts for nearly $4 million in attorney fees and costs after prevailing at a May 2023 trial against two competitors and four former employees on trade secret misappropriation, unfair and deceptive trade practices and contract-breach claims. After scoring the $4.9 million jury verdict in KMP's favor, the plaintiff's attorneys with Morse Barnes-Brown & Pendleton and Sunstein sought $3.8 million in fees and $339,409 in costs.