The recent case of Harman v. City and County of San Francisco, 158 Cal. App. 4^th 407 (2007) serves as a good example of the risks of not only litigating discrimination cases, but also seeing such cases all the way to a final verdict.  In Harman, the jury found in favor of the employee, finding that the City had an official policy of intentionally discriminating against white males.  Although the lower court dismissed the majority of the employee’s claims and the jury awarded the employee a total of $30,300 in damages, the lower court awarded the employee over $1 million dollars in attorneys’ fees to cover his legal costs.  In upholding this award, the appellate court stated, "The law does not mandate . . . that attorney fees bear a percentage relationship to the ultimate recovery of damages in civil rights cases."  Many employers already know that plaintiffs’ counsel in some employment-related cases are driven more by the promise of attorneys’ fees if they are successful, than the damages that might be awarded.  This case is a reminder that in evaluating cases, employers should not just focus on the damages that may be awarded to the plaintiff.