Judge: BBR Legal Eagle Deserves $550 an Hour

Five-hundred-fifty dollars an hour may seem like an excessive legal rate to the city of Redondo Beach, but not necessarily to L.A. County Superior Court Judge Robert O'Brien. On Monday, O'Brien rejected the city's claim that Building a Better Redondo's counsel charged an unreasonably high rate during its successful battle to force a citizen vote on harbor rezoning.

He awarded BBR $313,000, nearly all the $355,000 legal fees it sought.

O'Brien did, however, acknowledge that Angel Law, led by Frank Angel, was paid on the high end of the acceptable scale.   

"While the City attempts to recast Mr. Angel's expertise, this court recognizes Mr. Angel and Angel Law as a leading expert in the field of environmental, land use and administrative law," O'Brien wrote in his order. "The quality of Angel Law's work and skill level justify the hourly rates charged, although the court does recognize that they are at the high end of the scale."  

Angel billed BBR at a rate of $550 an hour and $500 an hour for the case. His associate attorney, Jeff El-Hajj, charged $200 an hour and $250 an hour. In some instances both attorneys billed separately for conferences about the case.

O'Brien agreed that the attorneys spent a lot of time preparing their petition and motion for the case but found that acceptable given the complexity of the case.

He did, however, reduce the award for billings in the pre-litigation proceedings, explaining:

"Although the court recognizes that exhausting administrative remedies are a necessary prerequisite to pursuing litigation, there is no guarantee that litigation will necessarily ensue after the administrative process is complete, and therefore fees prior to the initiation of legal proceedings are incurred without any assurance that there may even be an opportunity to recover them."

Non-profit BBR is not eligible to receive the awarded legal fees. It may receive monies it has already paid Angel Law, which took the case on a contingency basis, agreeing to a capped fee of $70,000.

Jim Light, leader of the citizen group, said it has paid the law firm $33,000 of that sum. He has pledged to use any monies returned to BBR for further analysis of zoning options in the city.

If it's of any comfort to the city, O'Brien indicated that the case was close indeed, and that attorneys for both sides did fine work.

"Indeed, the court recognizes that the legal work in this case on both sides is and was excellent," he wrote. "It would not be a cliche to state that this was a close case, because the court reflected and analyzed both sides for a comparatively long time."

To read the court order, please click on the attached PDF.

Related: City Must Pay BBR Legal Fees