$6.50 an Hour?

Mitchelson seeks a raise

In many drawn-out legal battles, the only real winners are the lawyers. The parties get emotionally and financially drained; the lawyers get paid by the hour. But in the much ballyhooed case of Marvin vs. Marvin, the roles were, for once, reversed. Michelle Triola Marvin said she was happy because the judge awarded her $104,000 to "reeducate" herself and gain new skills. Ex-Boyfriend Lee Marvin said he was pleased too; he could have been nicked for $1.3 million if the judge had decided that Michelle Marvin was entitled to half of what he earned while the couple were living together.

The only apparent loser--apart from live-ins who may be sued in the future for re-education costs--was Michelle Marvin's flamboyant lawyer, Marvin Mitchelson. His contingency fee was a third of her award. Since Mitchelson claims to have spent about 5,000 hours working on the case, his fee works out to about $6.50 an hour. That will not get your lawn mowed in Beverly Hills.

Rather than take a cut of his client's judgment, Mitchelson, who normally charges at least $100 an hour, looked elsewhere to get his fees paid. Where? The state of California. Under a rarely applied California law, a court may require the state to pay attorneys' fees "in any action which has resulted in the enforcement of an important right affecting the public interest." The right in this case, of course, is to sue a live-in mate for "palimony." Local lawyers say chances are slim that the state will foot Mitchelson's bill. Even so, he is not likely to be left stewing penniless in his office Jacuzzi. The Marvin case brought Mitchelson, who is believed to have earned some $750,000 last year, not only a book contract but also a host of new clients.

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