California employers already have plenty of reasons to lose sleep over an impending trial. Here is another one that is occasionally overlooked: After the jury has finished handing out millions, the plaintiff’s lawyers will return to court in due course to collect their prevailing-party attorney’s fees.

As we have previously reported here and here, California juries continue to deliver staggering employment verdicts. Slagel v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company provides the latest such reminder that the verdict is only part of the story.

Recently, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge awarded the employee’s law firm more than $3.5 million in attorney’s fees, which was on top of the $20 million in emotional distress damages that the court left standing after striking the jury’s eye-popping award of an additional $83 million in punitive damages.

While a total monetary hit of $23.5 million is tough enough for any employer to absorb, it could have been even worse: Plaintiff’s counsel had applied for a total of $9.7 million in attorney’s fees. Intriguingly, the Court approved rates for the employee’s lead lawyers up to $1,700 per hour – rates the Court found consistent with fee awards in similar recent cases in Los Angeles.

While some courts have relied on rate tables with lockstep market rates based on experience, the Court in Slagel showed considerable deference to the lawyers’ self-assessments, including approving an hourly rate of $1,000 for one of the most junior lawyers on the case who was admitted to the bar in 2025, shortly before commencement of the trial.

For employers still weighing the costs and benefits of a California jury trial (or arbitration), a multimillion-dollar prevailing-party attorney’s fee bill is an additional element that should not be casually overlooked.