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Williams & Connolly Sues Client for $2 Million
The National Law Journal
October 20, 2009
It's not uncommon these days to see law firms suing former clients over unpaid legal bills (see, for instance, McDermott Will & Emery's recent $606,000 case). Still, this latest bit of legal fee litigation seems remarkable: Williams & Connolly is taking a former client to court over $2 million after the company practically invited the firm to sue.
Or so says Williams & Connolly's complaint, filed Friday at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. According to the filing, the firm billed telecommunications company IDT $3 million for representing one of its subsidiaries in a patent case. Afterwards, in September 2008, IDT's CEO allegedly traveled to Washington to meet with Williams & Connolly heavy hitter Brendan Sullivan Jr. in order to work out a payment plan. They agreed to a deal where IDT would pay three installments of $1 million dollars over two years.
But after the first million, IDT allegedly stopped paying. According to the complaint, Williams & Connolly then received a visit from Shmuel Jonas, the son of IDT founder and chair Howard Jonas. The younger Jonas allegedly informed Williams & Connolly that his father had no intention of paying the balance of his company's legal bills.
The complaint states that Jonas "acknowledged that Williams & Connolly would win in court if Williiams & Connolly filed a lawsuit to enforce the agreement." But according to the complaint, Jonas also "explained that his father had concluded that IDT 'could harass Williams & Connolly for a couple of years and then settle out of court for a reduced amount.'"
Apparently Williams & Connolly is pretty confident in its chances too. An associate, Beth Stewart, is the only lawyer listed on the complaint. Neither side immediately returned calls for comment.
This article first appeared on The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.
