The New York Times:

The 23 lawyers who formed Rodney King's legal team have submitted their bill to Los Angeles, and it's a doozy: $4.4 million in legal fees for 13,000 hours of work at up to $350 an hour. Included in the billing were the hours lawyers spent on talk shows, taking King to movie and theater premieres [$1,300 to see Malcolm X], attending his birthday party [$650] and coaching him for the news conference where he pleaded, "Can we all get along?"

The bill is $600,000 more than the $3.8 million King received in his judgement against the city.

Lawyers also billed $3,981.25 for what they said were efforts to counter the negative publicity generated after King, with a transvestite prostitute in his car, allegedly tried to run down a police officer. (No charges were filed by the district attorney.)

"All I'm asking for is a day's wage for a day's work," said Steven A. Lerman, one of King's lawyers.

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