Lawyers from Wiley Rein who successfully challenged the Voting Rights Act before the U.S. Supreme Court want the government to pay $2 million in legal fees. The lawyers for each side in the case agreed in a Nov. 4 court filing that the request “appears to present novel legal issues.”
A Wiley Rein team led by name partner Bert Rein represented challenger Shelby County, Ala., in Washington federal district court. The case went up to the high court, where the justices in June struck down a key section of the law as unconstitutional. Shelby County’s lawyers filed a request for fees in late October, citing a fee-shifting section of the voting rights law. The government opposes the request. U.S. District Judge John Bates will first decide whether Shelby County’s lawyers are entitled to fees before considering how much compensation is appropriate. The firm said it put more than 4,600 hours into the case and charged hourly rates in 2013 that ranged from $495 for an associate to $950 for Rein. — Zoe Tillman
