Lucrative Labors

Leon Patricios was quoted in an article on prevailing plaintiff attorney fees under the Federal Labor Standards Law. Under that law, a prevailing plaintiff attorney is automatically entitled to attorney fees from the defendant. The article cited a case where the plaintiff's attorney requested "$16,000 in fees on a $315 claim that was settled weeks after the claim was filed."The case was cited as highlighting a fierce debate in the world of labor and employment law. The article cited the fact that in most Federal Labor Standards Law cases, the amount of money at issue is relatively small and that "employers tend to pay the claims quickly and without much of a fight". Mr. Patricios was quoted as saying that "employers typically want to settle, while plaintiff lawyers typically want to litigate to increase their fees." The issue of fees "comes up a lot and it hurts the possibility of settlement," Mr. Patricios said. "The issue of fees gets ahead of the settlement."