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Federal Circuit Opens Split Over Paralegal Reimbursement Under EAJA

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 01.12.07

In a 2-1 decision which rejected a decision of another circuit, Judges Dyk and Rader in Richlin Security Serv. Co. v. Chertoff (Fed. Cir. Dec. 26, 2006) held that, under the Equal Access to Justice Act, prevailing parties can only recover the actual cost to the parties' law firms of paralegal services, not the market rates billed by the firms. Judge Plager in dissent found an analogous Supreme Court precedent convincing and argued that a prior Federal Circuit decision had already held to the contrary, requiring en banc reconsideration.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 03.24.26

California Considering A Massive Expansion of Its Antitrust Laws

Legislative efforts to significantly expand California’s antitrust laws are working their way through the state legislature. The most comprehensive overhaul is Assembly Bill 1776 — the Competition and Opportunity in Markets for a Prosperous, Equitable and Transparent Economy (COMPETE) Act, introduced by Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, on March 23, 2026. AB 1776 is modeled closely after draft legislation recommended by the California Law Revision Commission (CLRC) in December. AB 1776 would not only significantly expand potential liability for single-firm conduct and monopolization but would also explicitly decouple California antitrust analysis from certain federal standards. Companies doing business in California should pay close attention to AB 1776 because of its potentially dramatic impact, including increased exposure to antitrust litigation and increased compliance costs....