Kasowitz Benson sues former Gibson Dunn partner for nearly $500K in latest suit seeking legal fees

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Law Firms Kasowitz Benson sues former Gibson Dunn partner for nearly $500K in latest suit seeking legal fees

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 29, 2024, 2:34 pm CST

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Kasowitz Benson Torres is seeking nearly $500,000 in legal fees from a former Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in New York state court. (Image from Shutterstock)

Kasowitz Benson Torres is seeking nearly $500,000 in legal fees from a former Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in New York state court.

The suit seeking fees from suspended lawyer Ignacio Foncillas “is the latest in a string of court actions the firm has initiated against former clients since the start of 2023 for a total of $5.2 million in legal fees,” Law.com reports.

Kasowitz Benson had helped Foncillas negotiate a “highly favorable sentencing agreement,” according to the suit allegations cited by Law.com.

Foncillas pleaded guilty in June 2018 to operating an unlicensed money transferring business between the United States and Mexico. Operating without a license allowed customers to evade anti-money-laundering safeguards, according to prosecutors. The company allegedly aided the transmission of more than $9 million between the two countries.

Foncillas was sentenced to time served, two years of supervised release, 500 hours of community service and a $7,500 fine. He also consented to entry of a $9.4 million forfeiture judgment, but the government agreed to accept more than $262,000 in satisfaction of that amount, according to a court opinion affirming his one-year suspension.

Foncillas did not immediately respond to the ABA Journal’s request for comment, sent to an email address listed by the New York court system. His representatives did not return Law.com’s request for comment.

Other defendants sued by Kasowitz Benson for fees include a financial adviser, a real estate developer and a marketing agency, according to Law.com. The largest amount sought was $2 million, related to Kasowitz Benson’s representation of real estate companies in connection with a mortgage foreclosure.

Law.com spoke with Michael Heller, CEO of Cozen O’Connor, about the risk of suing for unpaid fees.

“Most law firm general counsel will try to caution their law firm leaders against filing for unpaid fees because you could get a counterclaim of malpractice,” Heller said.

He declined, however, to comment specifically on the Kasowitz Benson suits.

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