HOURLY RATE REVEAL!: This Is How Much the Wolf Bills Per Hour– And I Have to Tell You It Is Pretty Low

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So the Czar is famously one of the most expensive lawyers in the nation— at least in terms of hourly rate.

But price is only an issue in the absence of value, and given the incredible value Troutman Amin, LLP delivers day in, day out–especially with respect to TCPA and data privacy compliance– even a $4,200.00 hourly rate is pennies compared to the hundreds of millions in market cap our advice can yield for growing companies (and all the trouble we keep people out of).

Troutman Amin, LLP is extraordinary for a tremendous number of reasons, not the least of which is its willingness to publicly post its rate structure. Most lawyers refuse to share their hourly rates and the best you can do is pick up information from public filings when fee awards are being sought.

That brings us to today’s story. How much does the Wolf– Anthony Paronich— charge per hour?

Now, in truth, this is a total fiction right out of the gate because the Wolf– like most (all?) TCPA plaintiff’s lawyers bring his suits on a contingency basis. Nobody is actually paying his hourly rate.

Rather the Wolf’s rate is a somewhat manufactured assessment of what he feels he can safely ask for and collect on in court. That is, the highest rate he feels CERTAIN a court will award him for his work.

So how much is it?

Well first a smidge of context.

You will all recall the recent case where a TCPA defendant decided it was not going to reveal the name of the BPO it was working with to make calls.

GIVE UP THE NAME!: TCPA Defendant Ordered to Identify BPO Involved in Allegedly Illegal Despite Ongoing Criminal Proceedings

This lead the Wolf to move to compel the name and the Court not only ordered the identification it also ordered sanctions against the Defendant.

Well Paronich moved to sanctions– and collected every single penny he sought.

OUT FOR BLOOD: The Wolf Opposes Effort of Attorney to Withdraw Until He Gets His Pound of Flesh

He wouldn’t even let the opposing lawyer run away until he got paid! Tough stuff.

But in doing so, he revealed his hourly rate for the case– $750.00 an hour.

*insert foghorn here.*

$750.00 an hour? WHAT?

I have to say I was caught off guard by how low this number is. Paronich is one of the most feared attorneys in the country. Plus the Wolf is in Boston, which is akin to my native Orange County in terms of market cost for attorneys. Yet his rate is approximately 1/3 of my litigation rate and about 1/6 of my compliance rate.

Then again, this case is pending in Indiana, and I suspect there aren’t so many thousand-dollar an hour lawyers there as there are on the coast. And, remember, Paronich is going in to make SURE the court approves his rate– so he wants to be conservative.

Still though, Paronich’s rate is quite under market under any analysis in my view- no wonder the Defendant paid it without question.

Editor’s note: Upon publication Paronich reached out to me and said the following– “To be fair to me, you should add context! I’m usually $1,800, but gave an Indiana rate that I thought would get approved.” This makes more sense.

If you’re curious to learn what talking to a $4,000 an hour lawyer is like you can always just call me. Better yet– you can see me (and the team!) on stage along with 20 other speakers from incredible brands at the Law Conference of Champions next month!

Chat soon!

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Published by Eric "Czar" Troutman

The Czar of TCPAWorld Eric Troutman is one of the country’s prominent class action defense lawyers and is nationally recognized in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation and compliance. He has served as lead defense counsel in more than 70 national TCPA class actions and has litigated nearly a thousand individual TCPA cases in his role as national strategic litigation counsel for major banks and finance companies. He also helps industry participants build TCPA-compliant processes, policies, and systems. Eric has built a national litigation practice based upon deep experience, rigorous analysis and extraordinary responsiveness. Eric and his team feel equally at home litigating multibillion dollar telecommunications class actions in federal court as they do developing and executing national litigation strategies for institutions facing an onslaught of individual TCPA matters. They thrive in each of these roles – delivering consistently excellent results – while never losing sight of the client experience. While many firms now tout TCPA expertise, Eric has been there from the beginning. He built one of the country’s first TCPA-only defense teams and began serving as national TCPA counsel for his clients nearly a decade ago. This perspective allows him to swiftly develop the right litigation strategies for dealing with recurring problems, without wasting time on tactics that are bound to fail. Eric’s rich historical perspective and encyclopedic knowledge of the TCPA landscape also make him an invaluable resource to institutional compliance teams struggling to comply with the shifting regulatory landscape. No task is too small – or too big. Indeed, Eric and his team have helped build TCPA-compliant systems and processes for some of the largest and most complex corporate entities in the country. He commonly works with in-house compliance counsel to build and implement enterprise and business-line specific TCPA solutions, performs TCPA audits and drafts and reviews proposed TCPA policies and procedures. He and his team also have the technical expertise necessary to assist call centers seeking to develop TCPA-resistant call path architecture or to modify existing telephony and software integration to better insulate from potential TCPA exposure. Eric has built a reputation for thought leadership. An avid blogger and speaker, he has been at the forefront of the industry’s effort to push for clarity and a return to sanity for the TCPA for years. He was selected to advocate for the financial services industry on important TCPA issues before the Federal Communications Commission and co-authored the nation’s only comprehensive practice guide on TCPA defense. In his spare time, Eric leads defense teams representing banks and other financial services companies in consumer finance litigation matters. He has experience representing clients in UCC, TILA, RESPA FCRA, CCRA, CLRA, FDCPA, RFDCPA and FCCPA claims, as well as in fraud and bank operations issues.

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