Preplanning for Attorneys’ Fees in Complex or Multiparty Cases

The potential to recover attorneys’ fees is often one of the top considerations for civil attorneys when deciding whether to take a new case and advising a client about the risks and realities of litigating a dispute. Nevada, like all states, follows the American Rule – that parties bear their own attorneys’ fees unless a statute, rule, or contract allows shifting fees from one party to another. Accordingly, attorneys must sift through contractual terms or review applicable statutes and rules for those magical words allowing for fee awards.

While determining whether there is an avenue to recover fees can be a crucial factor in a client’s decision to proceed with a case, it should not then be put on the shelf to age and be litigated if and when the time to move for fees comes along. In complex or multiparty cases, the available avenues to recover attorneys’ fees should be considered with each billing entry and throughout the litigation. The authority that may allow a prevailing party to recover fees may not extend to fees incurred in pursuing all claims, or against all the losing parties. Thus, practitioners should be cognizant of the issue of apportionment—both from the perspective of the party seeking fees and the one defending against requests for fee awards.

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