Free Affidavit - District Court of Colorado - Colorado

Case 1:03-cv-01973-PSF-MJW

Document 228

Filed 08/24/2006

Page 1 of 4

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO

Civil Action No. 03-CV-1973-PSF-MJW (Consolidated with 04-CV-02112-PSF-MJW) THE WALKER GROUP, INC., Plaintiff, v. FIRST LAYER COMMUNICATIONS, INC. and J.E.H. KNUTSON, Defendants.

AFFIDAVIT OF RICHARD S. GOTTLIEB IN SUPPORT OF APPLICATION FOR ATTORNEYS' FEES

I, Richard S. Gottlieb, being first duly sworn, hereby depose and say: 1. I am an attorney at law licensed to practice in the state of North Carolina

(North Carolina State Bar No. 23131) since 1996. I am one of the attorneys of record for plaintiff The Walker Group, Inc. in this matter. I am presently engaged in the private practice of law as a partner with the law firm of Kilpatrick Stockton LLP in Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina. 2. Kilpatrick Stockton is an international law firm with offices in the United

States, London and Stockholm. Kilpatrick Stockton's litigation department has experience in all forms of litigation and regularly appears in state and federal court throughout the United States. 3. I have been a member in good standing of the Bar of the state of North

Carolina since 1996. I am admitted to practice before all federal and state courts in North
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Case 1:03-cv-01973-PSF-MJW

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Carolina, as well as the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, the Fourth Circuit, Tenth Circuit, Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. My practice primarily focuses on business litigation, with a special emphasis in complex commercial, trade secret and class action litigation. 4. Kilpatrick Stockton has represented Walker Group and its subsidiary

company, Walker & Associates, Inc. for at least the past 15 years and is, for all practical purposes, its outside general counsel. Kilpatrick Stockton represented Walker Group in the drafting and negotiating of the Promissory Note and personal guaranties that eventually came to underlie the disputes in this case and has participated as counsel in this matter from the filing of the complaint, through discovery motions, and in the trial of this case. 5. Kilpatrick Stockton's billing statement for efforts to review Defendant's

inadequate discovery responses, communicating with Defendant's counsel to request that the responses be supplemented, and for time spent researching and preparing Walker Group's Motion to Compel and for Sanctions, along with an accompanying eleven (11) page brief is attached hereto as Exhibit A. (Docket # 220 and 221.) The time spent on behalf of the plaintiff was reasonably necessary for adequate representation in this matter and the charges for these described efforts were included in the July billing statement to Walker Group. 6. On August 11, 2006, the Court entered an Order awarding "reasonable and

necessary attorneys fees and costs for having to bring this motion." (Docket # 226.) Per the Order, the parties conferred but were not able to reach an agreement on the amount of reasonable expenses. 7. I was the Kilpatrick Stockton attorney who primarily reviewed the materials

produced and coordinated the drafting of the motion and brief. Jason Wenker, an associate, substantially contributed to the drafting of the motion and brief. 8. My current billing rate for this matter, which applies to all work I performed

related to the underlying motion and brief, is $325 per hour. Mr. Wenker's billing rate applicable to the work he performed on this matter is $265 per hour.
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Case 1:03-cv-01973-PSF-MJW

Document 228

Filed 08/24/2006

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9.

The foregoing hourly rates are at or below the rates charged by other attorneys

in the Winton-Salem community with similar experience and background in representing clients in matters of this nature. It is my understanding from a review of various sources that these rates are at or below the rates charged by similar sized law firms in the Denver community. This the 24th day of August, ~

·chard S. Gottlieb

Sworn to and subscribed before me this the ~/~` day of( 44.e~1 , 2006.
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NOTARY PuBLIC,.. LI/el, My Commission Expires:

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Case 1:03-cv-01973-PSF-MJW

Document 228

Filed 08/24/2006

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE (CM/ECF) I hereby certify that on August 24, 2006, I electronically filed the foregoing AFFIDAVIT OF RICHARD S. GOTTLIEB IN SUPPORT OF APPLICATION FOR ATTORNEY'S FEES with the Clerk of Court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to the following email addresses: [email protected] [email protected], and I hereby certify that I have mailed or served the document or paper to the following non CM/ECF participants by first class mail addressed as follows: none.

s/ Richard S. Gottlieb Richard S. Gottlieb Attorney for Plaintiff Walker Group, Inc. Kilpatrick Stockton LLP 1001 West Fourth Street Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27101-2400 Telephone: (336) 607-7300 [email protected]