When it comes to fee shifting, a lawyer shall do unto the opposing party as he would do unto his own client.

That’s one theme in a recent Texas Supreme Court opinion. The high court scrutinized the evidence of two lawyers’ work, striking down the lead counsel’s fee award of $339,000 but upholding a $37,000 award for his cocounsel. In reversing and remanding Richard J. Gonzalez’s fee, the opinion delivers a Golden Rule for parties hoping to collect under fee-shifting statutes.