Photo: Alexkich/Adobe Stock Pa. High Court Throws Out Disciplinary Charges Over Lawyer's $1M Fee Request
"This is very significant not just for this individual case but for the profession," said BrotmanLaw's Ellen Brotman, who represented Michael Pisanchyn.
October 24, 2024 at 04:27 PM
4 minute read
What You Need to Know
- The Pennsylvania Supreme Court dismissed a disciplinary petition against an attorney who sought $1 million in fees on a $125,000 case.
- The court held that a rule barring excessive fee requests does not apply to fee petitions.
- The court also ruled that conduct that time-consuming litigation does not inherently prejudice the administration of justice.
A Scranton attorney's request for more than $1 million in legal fees on a $125,000 bad-faith recovery did not violate any Rules of Professional Conduct, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
Although a federal judge had deemed attorney Michael Pisanchyn's seven-figure fee petition "outrageous and abusively excessive," the high court ruled that the petition did not run afoul of a Pennsylvania rule prohibiting lawyers from seeking excessive fees.
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