A Buffalo civil rights attorney who obtained a $750,000 settlement in a racial discrimination case may be denied compensation because of a dispute over whether she had an improper retainer agreement with her client.

Western District Magistrate Judge Jeremiah McCarthy (See Profile) said he could not separate the retainer agreement from a standard contingency agreement that entitled Prathima Reddy to one-third of the award and denied in its entirety her request for attorney fees.