Ethics

Seven times lodestar is pretty sweet, but when it was part of an agreement between a sophisticated firm and a sophisticated client to share risks and benefits, it's not "unconscionable."  Opinion from the California Court of Appeal is here.

(Note: in ABA jurisdictions, the fee must be "reasonable."  In California, the fee cannot be "unconscionable."  The list of factors the courts look at are essentially the same under the two approaches, and it's not clear to me how often, if ever, the difference in terminology makes a difference.)