March 27 (Reuters) - (Billable Hours is Reuters' weekly

report on lawyers and money. Please send tips or suggestions to

[email protected])

Northwestern University and its lawyers at Latham & Watkins

have asked a judge to award them attorney fees after a

conservative group dropped its lawsuit over Northwestern law

school's hiring practices and refiled a new one minutes later.

Northwestern said in a Tuesday court filing that the "procedural

gymnastics" by Faculty, Alumni, & Students Opposed to Racial

Preferences (FASORP) violated a federal rule against "such

manipulative tactics." FASORP is represented by prominent

conservative attorney Jonathan Mitchell and by America First

Legal, which was founded by Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to

President Donald Trump.

FASORP sued Northwestern in July, claiming its law school

discriminates against white men in faculty hiring and in the

selection of articles that appear in its flagship law review.

FASORP dismissed its own lawsuit on January 31, and then refiled

it minutes later on February 1, according to Northwestern.

"FASORP's continued gamesmanship to pursue that effort

should not continue unless and until it reimburses Defendants

for their costs and fees -- which are but a fraction of the toll

that this unwarranted litigation has imposed," Northwestern

said.

A spokesperson for Northwestern did not immediately respond

to a request for comment. Mitchell and FASORP's other lawyers

did not immediately respond to similar requests.

The university's filing accused FASORP of trying to dodge a

potentially adverse ruling on its bid to add a Title VII claim

to its original lawsuit. A hearing on the matter was scheduled

for February 5, before FASORP dismissed its original suit on

January 31. FASORP's February 1 lawsuit includes a Title VII

claim.

Northwestern did not specify how much in fees it is seeking,

but the school said it wants to be reimbursed for its work in

litigating FASORP's bid to amend its complaint, and for its

motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which was also pending.

The Evanston, Illinois-based school accused FASORP of trying

to "malign five Black professors at Northwestern as unworthy of

their appointments to the law faculty," while also targeting

certain faculty members and students.

-- A federal judge in San Francisco on Wednesday sanctioned a

Houston-based patent lawyer known for filing hundreds of

lawsuits a year for his failure to follow court rules for

out-of-state attorneys.

William Ramey and two lawyers at his law firm, Ramey LLP,

were ordered to pay $64,121 after U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter

Kang found that Ramey and his colleagues "repeatedly and

knowingly" broke rules governing admissions for non-local

lawyers.

Kang, in a 44-page order, said Ramey and his firm have a

"long history of repeated instances of rules violations and

noncompliance." Kang said he has found at least 56 civil

lawsuits where Ramey appeared as a lawyer on the case as an

out-of-state attorney, but he filed a pro hac vice application

in just 10 of those cases.

"It is clear that the conduct at issue in this case is not

due to excusable neglect or oversight," Kang said.

Ramey did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The sanctions came in a patent infringement case Ramey's

client, Koji IP, filed against the American branch of

semiconductor manufacturer Renesas Electronics ( RNECF ). Koji voluntarily

dismissed its lawsuit against Renesas less than a month after it

was filed. Kang noted that Ramey and Koji filed - and

voluntarily dismissed - two earlier lawsuits against Renesas.

A spokesperson for Renesas declined to comment.

-- Lawyers who secured more than $319 million in cash

settlements for some 200,000 current and former students suing

17 major U.S. colleges over financial aid said they have

invested nearly 128,000 hours into the antitrust litigation.

Litigation continues against five schools.

Attorneys from three firms - Gilbert Litigators & Counselors;

Berger Montague and Freedman Normand Friedland - this week asked

a U.S. judge in Chicago to approve an additional $11.75 million

in fees for their work, which would push their total

compensation so far above $106 million.

-- Plaintiffs lawyers at The Rosen Law Firm and Glancy Prongay

said they will ask a U.S. judge to award them up to $6.7 million

in fees from a $20 million securities class action settlement

with Live Nation.

The entertainment giant agreed to settle a shareholder

lawsuit accusing it of making misleading statements about

industry competition and compliance with antitrust laws,

artificially boosting its stock price. Live Nation denied any

wrongdoing.

Read more:

Purdue Pharma fees surpass $250 million for Davis Polk amid

new bankruptcy plan

Oracle lawyers' $58 million fee award on the line in Rimini

Street appeal

Flush with cash, law firms eye uncertain economy