The recent brouhaha over allegations that DLA Piper churned bills and more or less laughed about it in internal emails (NYLJ, March 26, 2013) is a concrete example of two familiar maxims intersecting: a) pigs get fat but hogs get slaughtered and b) dont put anything in writing you wouldn’t want to read about in the paper.
For all the handwringing it brings about, bill churning is about the most common accusation lawyers hurl at each other, especially in court papers requesting counsel fees. How can, for example, a single motion "cost" $25,000.00, one may ask, in disputing a counsel fee request. In response, the incredulous answer is almost always a carefully worded epithet for daring to question the qualifications of the lawyer or the firm seeking compensation. The courts are then left to Solomonically split the difference, in most cases.
