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Scene of the crime: Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. The scoop: A lawyer, who made $421,327 representing a suburban school district in one year, submitted a bill for an 81-hour day and three for 25-hour days, a newspaper review found. Attorney Barry Van Rensler, the over billing lawyer, blamed innocent mistakes for the errors in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2002. "I love the school district, and I would never intentionally overcharge them," Van Rensler told The Philadelphia Inquirer, which reviewed his bills. Van Rensler, who charges $140 an hour, said the questionable billings were innocent mistakes involving misplaced decimals. In one case, he said he billed the district for 75 hours of work instead of 0.75 of an hour, for a 45-minute conference on a property-tax appeal. His bill was $10,500 instead of $105, according to the newspaper's review. School officials said they hadn't noticed anything unusual about Van Rensler's invoices before the Inquirer's review. They said they do not believe the errors were intentional. Van Rensler returned $19,361 to the Upper Darby School District last week. Sources: AP, CNN.com, Houston Chronicle, FindLaw.com, "Lawyer clocks 81-hour day," April 27, 2003.
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