Boies’ Billing Limits Nike’s Pay for Helping Prosecute Avenatti

Nike will receive significantly less pay for helping the U.S. prosecute attorney Michael Avenatti for extortion than requested, in part because its outside counsel, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, used “block billing,” a federal court said Monday.

The athletic apparel maker qualified under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act to receive repayment for some—but not all—of the expenses it incurred in connection with the federal government’s 2019 investigation into Avenatti’s activities and his trial, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York said.

The court awarded Nike $259,800.50 in restitution, as opposed to the nearly $900,000 it sought.

Avenatti ...