2 Big Law Firms Get $1M-Plus Work Defending DC's Transit Agency in Ad Fight
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, or WMATA, issued purchase orders authorizing nearly $800,000 in legal fees for the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and nearly $300,000 for Munger, Tolles & Olson.
May 15, 2018 at 01:08 PM
4 minute read
D.C.'s public transportation system, locally called Metro, contracted with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and Munger, Tolles & Olson to defend against a lawsuit challenging advertisement policy. Credit: Jay Mallin
The District of Columbia's public transportation system anticipates spending more than $1 million on outside lawyers to defend its refusal last year to allow the Archdiocese of Washington to purchase and run a Christmas advertisement on buses, according to records obtained by The National Law Journal.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, or WMATA, issued purchase orders authorizing nearly $800,000 in legal fees for the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and nearly $300,000 for Munger, Tolles & Olson.
The amounts identified in the purchase orders reflect an estimate of the total cost of the defense work, not payments that have already been made to the two firms, said Sonia Bacchus, WMATA's chief counsel for customer service and regulatory affairs. “It is the calculation of what we think it will cost,” she said.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Trending Stories
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250