Challenge huge attorneys’ fees: Courts now have discretion to limit awards in some cases

One of the biggest shocks employers get when an employee or former employee wins a lawsuit against them is the attorneys’ fee award. Employers typically have to pay the employee’s legal fees and expenses when the employee wins even a modest victory. Those fees can be far greater than the actual lost wages and other damages. Fortunately, the California Supreme Court has stepped in, recently concluding that trial judges have wide discretion to reduce jury awards when the employee’s damages are small but the legal expenses are large in comparison.