# How will Casey Anthony pay her lawyer's bill? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 28, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605 "2013-01-28T13:45:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/1 "2013-01-28T13:45:53Z")
Casey Anthony is in the news again, in part for her declaration of bankruptcy. It was noted that she owes her lawyer $500,000 in legal bills. Presumably her lawyer is no idiot, and he worked for her with the expectation that he would eventually end up getting paid for his efforts. What did he see that I don’t? How will Casey Anthony pay that bill? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/2 "2013-01-28T13:51:41Z")
I expect that the lawyer is hoping that the publicity will lead to more clients who pay their own bills, and thereby more than cover the loss on the Casey matter. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/3 "2013-01-28T13:53:05Z")
Or a cut of TV or book deals? Hard to feel for the guy. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/4 "2013-01-28T14:01:35Z")
Maybe the lawyer can write off the loss? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/5 "2013-01-28T14:14:27Z")
Reality show. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/6 "2013-01-28T14:21:13Z")
Notariety Porn career ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/7 "2013-01-28T14:41:03Z")
He got her off. He never has to prove how good an attorney he is (whether or not he is) again. All he needs is one client who has money who gets charged with a crime, plus book deals or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/8 "2013-01-28T14:41:33Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > Maybe the lawyer can write off the loss? Exactly. A high profile case that will make him famous and bring in rich clients AND a huge tax writeoff for his business. Its a win-win. If Casey can come up with the money or convince someone to pay the bill, even better. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/9 "2013-01-28T15:06:44Z")
Okay, then how is her current bankruptcy lawyer expecting to get paid? Her bankruptcy case is in the news, yes, but it’s hardly the high-profile multiple murder case her last lawyer got to win. Since this is IMHO, and I say this sarcastically, couldn’t have happened to a nicer woman. She is scum and deserves every bit of misfortune that comes her way for the rest of her life. ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/10 "2013-01-28T15:10:26Z")
I think bankruptcy lawyers get paid up front. Otherwise they wouldn’t be in business long. ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/11 "2013-01-28T15:15:24Z")
At best this ‘tax write-off’ will offset other earnings, but he will eat 2/3 of those costs. It’s a common misconception that a tax write off magically makes losses evaporate. It lessens the burden, but the cost is a burden nonetheless. Her lawyer may have seen the publicity and high profile nature of the trial to elevate his status ala Mark Geragos, and therefore an _investment_ into other opportunities. IOW, he may have been fully aware she would stiff him in the end (and he was stupid if he didn’t entertain the _possibility_) and still decided the upside potential was worth the downside potential. But he likely lost real money that a tax write off won’t alleviate. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/12 "2013-01-28T16:17:01Z")
Casey never had any money. She was living with her parents and unemployed when the child went missing. Her criminal trial defense was paid by the state of Florida. But since then she’s had on going legal battles and I guess thats where these current bills came from. Theres been rumors that she’ll eventually get a big fee for an extended interview. But so far no reporter has dared talk to her. The public’s feelings are just too strong. I suspect Casey will suffer the same fate as OJ. She’ll still be hated 15 years from now. ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/13 "2013-01-28T17:11:19Z")
If Baez operates on a 60% gross margin, and his bill to Anthony was $500K, he spent out of his own pocket $200K. If he’s an LLC, he’s probably taxed at around 35%. That $200K came out of his pocket, but he is allowed to reflect those costs on his P&L like any other expense. So…his other income was reduced by $200K. (because he was never paid) At a tax rate of 35%, he was able to see a $70K reduction in taxes. That $200K that he hypothetically shelled out to free that sociopath, cost him ‘only’ around $130K. Now, of course, additional business, media fees, book deals, movie deals etc etc etc might make that $130K look like spare change. But it ain’t chump change up front. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/14 "2013-01-28T17:19:29Z")
First of all, I never followed the case and don’t particularly give a damn how or if she pays it. That said, any good lawyer is smart enough to know you can’t get blood from a stone and knew full well - going in - that this client cannot afford to pay the fee. Some lawyers take on financial hits to further their careers. If a (wealthy) client sees that a lawyer can get a high profile case settled in the client’s favor, they are certainly more inclined to hire that law firm. If he gets a few big, rich clients from this - it was all worth it. So will he get his money back from her? Nope. Will he make money off the fame factor? You betcha! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/15 "2013-01-28T18:17:47Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Theres been rumors that she’ll eventually get a big fee for an extended interview. But so far no reporter has dared talk to her. The public’s feelings are just too strong. I suspect Casey will suffer the same fate as OJ. She’ll still be hated 15 years from now. But OJ did make money off of the case, in the form of books he’s written on it, so Anthony could, too. Heck, it wouldn’t surprise me if OJ actually eventually did some interviews. They may have just made people madder, but making people mad is good TV. ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/16 "2013-01-28T19:59:17Z")
If you think about it, it makes sense for her to dump all those creditors now and then, after the bankruptcy is final, get a media agent to look for deals later on. That way, she won’t have to pay off the attorney, law enforcement agencies and taxes that she owes now and can split any income from media deals with just her agent. ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/17 "2013-01-28T20:49:08Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Casey never had any money. She was living with her parents and unemployed when the child went missing. Her criminal trial defense was paid by the state of Florida. > > But since then she’s had on going legal battles and I guess thats where these current bills came from. > > Theres been rumors that she’ll eventually get a big fee for an extended interview. But so far no reporter has dared talk to her. The public’s feelings are just too strong. I suspect Casey will suffer the same fate as OJ. She’ll still be hated 15 years from now. She didn’t rack up a $500,000 legal bill for forging checks. Baez may have been paid/reimbursed by Florida, but it didn’t represent his full bill. He’s out big money from Anthony. (which we’ve discussed he’ll likely make up from the fame this got him) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/18 "2013-01-29T04:05:42Z")
Is it possible he was working pro bono? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/19 "2013-01-29T04:39:21Z")
> [@spifflog](#): > > Or a cut of TV or book deals? Hard to feel for the guy. That’s my guess. He probably got her to sign a contract naming him as her agent/manager and entitling him to a percentage of any future earnings she gets when she sells her story. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605/20 "2013-01-29T04:46:15Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Is it possible he was working pro bono? Retroactively, I think it’s clear that he was! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-casey-anthony-pay-her-lawyers-bill/648605.md?page=2)