Attorney Fees and Sanctions – Virginia and Federal Courts

Content Highlights

“With the proliferation of sanctions and attorney fees in both state and federal courts, attorneys must be up to date on when they can obtain attorney fees from their adversaries and when they may be vulnerable to paying them. Without submitting timely and proper documentation, fees that would otherwise be awarded are routinely denied to very great extents (up to 90% in certain cases). Attorneys must know when sanctions may be awarded not only against them, but also against a client.”
– Michael Lieberman, co-author

Written for the Virginia practitioner, Attorney Fees and Sanctions – Virginia and Federal Courts covers the procedural rules, the substantive law, and the practical approaches to maximizing petitions for attorney fees whether permitted by contract, by statute, or by rules of the court, as well as when you and/or your client are vulnerable to being sanctioned. The book also contains a brief, but important, section on attorneys being held in contempt in Virginia courts.

Since this book was first published in 2012, the Virginia Supreme Court has specifically issued at least five important decisions regarding when sanctions are appropriate and have clarified other important areas of when attorney fees are recoverable. In federal court, over the last several years, trial courts have been cracking down on the documentation requirements for granting attorney fees, which are referenced throughout the book, while at the same time the determinations of what constitutes a reasonable fee have fluctuated throughout the various divisions and even with the same districts. The most recent decisions from each District are included. This book also explains the 2015 amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(e) regarding spoliation of electronically stored evidence.

Editor

Bernard J. DiMuro, DiMuroGinsberg PC / Alexandria

Bernard J. DiMuro, editor of this book, is the managing partner of DiMuroGinsberg PC. A highly experienced trial attorney, he represents corporations and individuals in complex civil litigation in both the federal and state courts as well as before administrative tribunals in many practice areas including business torts, corporate governance, employment law, and defamation. He also represents law firms and attorneys in matters of professional responsibility both before the courts and the disciplinary boards of Virginia and Washington, D.C. In this regard, he provides consultation and representation on, among other things, law firm governance (including law firm disputes), the Rules of Professional Conduct, motions to disqualify counsel, and motions for sanctions and attorney fees.

Mr. DiMuro earned an undergraduate degree from Northwestern University in 1976 and a law degree from the George Washington University National Law Center in 1979.

Mr. DiMuro served as the president of the Virginia State Bar in 2003 and has served on its governing council for 11 years. He previously chaired a grievance committee and the Disciplinary Board of the Virginia Supreme Court and has been a member of Virginia State Bar committees dedicated to the promulgation and review of ethical rules and procedures.

He is a Fellow of the Virginia Bar Foundation and the American Bar Association and is a frequent lecturer on numerous continuing legal education subjects including professional responsibility. Mr. DiMuro is often quoted in legal publications and is often called upon by other attorneys to provide legal insight into cases. He has qualified as an expert in Virginia courts on both attorney fees and on the standard of care for litigation in Virginia. For these reasons and others, he is continually recognized by his colleagues as one of Virginia’s “Legal Elite.”

Authors

Michael E. Barnsback, LeClairRyan PC / Alexandria

Michael E. Barnsback, author of Chapters 1 and 2, is a partner in the law firm of LeClairRyan. Mr. Barnsback has represented clients in complex civil litigation for 25 years. As part of his ongoing work in professional responsibility he counsels attorneys on litigation matters involving motions for sanctions and/or for attorney fees. He has qualified and testified as an expert on attorney fees issues in Virginia courts. His practice also includes representing employers in all aspects of employment law and data security/privacy. He holds a CIPP/US designation from the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

Mr. Barnsback is also an adjunct professor at the George Mason University School of Law teaching a course in Labor Law. He served as a federal judicial law clerk (Pro Se Clerk) in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Michael S. Lieberman, DiMuroGinsberg PC / Alexandria

Michael S. Lieberman, author of Chapters 3 and 4, is a founding partner of DiMuroGinsberg PC and a member of the firm’s litigation team. He has 35 years’ experience representing clients in complex civil and criminal litigation matters. He counsels and represents attorneys and law firms on matters of professional responsibility, motions for sanctions, and attorney fees. His practice includes commercial litigation in the areas of business conspiracy, copyright and trademark litigation, and the litigation of wrongful death claims, especially police-involved shootings. Mr. Lieberman received a Public Justice Achievement Award in 1995 from the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, and in 2015 he was named as one of the Leaders in the Law in Virginia by Virginia Lawyers Media.