Billionaire’s $35m fee row exposes risks for law firms on billing practices

A Brazilian billionaire’s dispute with US firm WilmerHale over legal fees has landed in the High Court, with a judge ruling that the client is entitled to have the firm’s $35 million fees assessed, nearly $19 million of which are unpaid.

While the judge noted that the overall level of fees appeared “commensurate with the nature of the case”, the judgment made clear that a core concern was whether the claimant had been kept adequately informed about costs.

The fees stem from a series of high-stakes arbitration proceedings linked to the estate of Alberto Safra’s father, Brazilian banker Joseph Safra, whose $23 billion fortune sparked a sprawling cross-border dispute.

Clarity under scrutiny

A key focus was how clearly the law firm communicated its fees. That issue played out over the course of the retainer, as the scale and complexity of the underlying disputes evolved.

During the course of litigation between December 2022 and September 2024, hourly rates were increased twice without notice to the client. The engagement letter set out hourly fees of $1,830 for partners, which over the course of the retainer, rose to $2,095.

The firm pointed to the nature of the work to justify that trajectory. John Trenor, a WilmerHale partner on the case, said: “the arbitrations were extremely complex and their likely course and duration extremely unpredictable at the time of the engagement letter”.

Monthly invoices regularly ran into seven figures. In the early stages alone, bills for September and October 2022 totalled around $875,000 and $1.5 million respectively, rising to nearly $2 million for November.

That pattern continued as the matter progressed. A single month in mid-2023 generated more than $3.1 million in fees, while several others sat comfortably above the $1 million mark.

Disbursements also added up quickly. Individual invoices included tens of thousands of dollars in expenses, covering items such as expert fees, travel and overseas counsel.

WilmerHale charged Safra tens of thousands of dollars for subscriptions to Westlaw, and $11,367 for a partner’s airfare and other travel expenses from New York to London in December 2022 - which included $41 for laundry.

Long days

The invoices also offered a window into the intensity of the work. They included instances of partners recording more than 12 hours in a day, as well as a 17-hour day in November 2022.

The client challenged aspects of that billing, although the firm maintained that “the work required has demanded that level of commitment”.

The case now moves to a full assessment of the fees, where the court will examine the work carried out and determine what, if anything, should be reduced.