The Supreme Court announced today that it will review the not for publication decision in Kern Augustine Conroy & Schoppmann, P.C. v. DiDonato. As phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s Office, the question presented is “May a law firm recover attorneys’ fees for representing itself in a collection action against a former client, and was it error to apply a sixteen percent interest rate on the past due balance as a “commercially reasonable” rate?” The per curiam opinion of the Appellate Division (Judges Rodriguez, Sabatino and Ashrafi) upheld the Law Division’s award of attorneys’ fees to the plaintiff law firm, and also affirmed the application of the 16% interest rate for a portion of the time at issue.
Can Lawyers Who Sue Clients for Fees Recover Attorneys’ Fees for Representing Themselves, and What Interest Rate Can They Collect?
