Board of Professional Responsibility, Wyoming State Bar v. Casper
Wyoming Supreme Court
318 P.3d 790 (2014)
Attorney Stacey Casper (defendant) represented a client in a divorce and custody case under an agreement billing a 15-minute minimum for tasks like phone calls or reviewing documents. Her billing records showed 106 separate 15-minute entries for tasks that plainly took far less time — including billing twice for reviewing the same one-page document, billing twice to review the fee agreement itself, and billing for a scheduling motion needed only because of Casper's own calendar conflict. After the client stopped paying and Casper withdrew, the Wyoming Board of Professional Responsibility (plaintiff) brought disciplinary charges for excessive billing and recommended a 30-day suspension.
Whether an attorney who bills in minimum time increments may be found to have charged excessive fees when she uses that billing practice unreasonably.