I’ve addded a very important update to my post entitled The Pro Bono Road to Riches! The update clarifies that the court’s discussion in Cruz v. Ayromloo, case no. B190959 (2d Dist. Oct. 3, 2007) regarding the availability of attorney fees for pro bono representation is dictum (though an unusually detailed and lengthy example of such) and notes an important distinction between Cruz and earlier California cases upholding such fee awards.
Both points are important to keep in mind.
That post has generated a lot of attention. It’s been linked to by two very prominent law blogs, Overlawyered and The UCL Practitioner. It also earned me a phone call from a reporter.
I think this is evidence that although the Cruz court’s discussion of the issue is dictum, it carries weighty implications. Which is why, I suspect, the court went through the trouble to write in such detail and cite so many cases from other jurisdictions. Its discussion may encourage a litigant to bring up the issue on appeal and get a definitive ruling in a future case. I doubt that will take long.
UPDATE (10/10/07): Overlawyered, tha tagline of which is “chronicling the high cost of our legal system,” has been following this issue for some time. Type “pro bono” in the search box at Overlawyered to see what I mean.
UPDATE #2 (10/10/07): I’ve added a second update to the original post, The Pro Bono Road to Riches!
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