Law firm Milbank cuts Katyal’s $3,250 rate in defending NJ cities against Trump

By Mike Scarcella

July 25 (Reuters) - Prominent lawyer Neal Katyal of law firm Milbank will charge a sharply reduced hourly rate and not his standard $3,250 as he helps to defend two New Jersey cities sued by President Donald Trump’s administration over their immigration policies, according to a contract obtained by Reuters.

Milbank's lawyers, including Katyal, will each charge $300 an hour — a fee that will be split evenly by the cities of Newark and Hoboken for the litigation in federal court in New Jersey, the contract showed.

The Trump administration in May sued Newark, Hoboken and two other New Jersey cities, accusing them of being so-called sanctuary jurisdictions and obstructing federal immigration agents.

Katyal in the July 11 contract said he normally charges $3,250 an hour, and that some other partners at his 1,000-lawyer firm bill hourly between $1,865 and $2,475.

New York-headquartered Milbank is one of nine firms that reached deals with Trump in March and April, after he began issuing executive orders against law firms that restricted their access to government officials and federal contracting work.

Milbank, which had not been hit with an order, in its deal said it earmarked $100 million in free legal services for mutually agreed-upon initiatives with the White House.

Four other law firms successfully sued to block Trump's orders against them.

Here, Milbank in defending the two cities said it agreed to reduce its standard rates because a third-party — the nonprofit Goodnation Foundation — is picking up part of the legal tab. Hoboken said it will not pay more than $53,000 in any calendar year to Milbank.

The document did not show how much Goodnation Foundation is expected to pay, and the organization, Milbank and Katyal did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Newark official had no immediate comment, and Hoboken did not immediately respond to a request for one.

Large law firms commonly reduce their hourly rates, or sometimes bill at no cost, for legal work for state and local government clients.

As hourly rates have steadily increased across the profession, at least two other law firms, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Susman Godfrey, also have hit the $3,000 an hour milestone.

A January report by the Thomson Reuters Institute and the Georgetown Law Center on Ethics and the Legal Profession said clients have been willing to accept “dramatic increases” in rates. The institute and Reuters share the same parent company.

Katyal, a former acting U.S. solicitor general during President Barack Obama's administration, in 2022 was billing at $2,465 an hour when he was at law firm Hogan Lovells. He joined Milbank in February, and now leads the firm’s appellate team. He has argued more than 50 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Milbank's team defending Newark and Hoboken also includes Gurbir Grewal, who is a former New Jersey attorney general and enforcement head at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and appellate specialist Colleen Roh Sinzdak.

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