Attempts by Philadelphia-based midsize firm Kleinbard to recover more than $70,000 in legal fees for its representation of a central Pennsylvania district attorney left a panel of Commonwealth Court judges to question how prosecutors are meant to pay for legal fees.

The dispute in Kleinbard LLC v. The Office of the District Attorney of Lancaster County came before a three-judge appellate court panel Monday after a trial court judge dismissed the firm’s attempts to recover nearly $75,000 for services rendered in a lawsuit by the Lancaster District Attorney’s Office against the Lancaster County commissioners in 2019.