For securities class action lawyers, as a class, 2011 will go down as a pretty bad year. Not since 2004 have fees and expenses which total $594 million so far this year been so low, according to a year-end report by NERA Economic Consulting. Aside from 2004 (when fees amounted to $480 million), the plaintiffs bars bounty has hasnt been this small since 2001 ($530 million.) Last year, fees and expenses topped $1.4 billion, according to the report.
Read more: Securities Class Action Lawyers Pull Lowest Fees Since 2004 — WSJ Law Blog