Lieberman said he believes Judge Rakoff acted with good intentions. He also acknowledged the inescapable truth of the judge’s point that he’s awarding a tremendous amount of money to plaintiffs’ firms. (Rakoff’s exact words: “It is important to also remember that we are dealing here, not just with percentages, billable rates, and multipliers, but with very large amounts of money in absolute terms that plaintiffs’ counsel will be receiving under any analysis.”)
But he said – and this is a legitimate point – that disregarding lead plaintiffs’ pre-negotiated fee agreements can distort the way class counsel litigate a case. “I was thinking for three years my fee agreement was going to be honored,” he said. “The future of our firm was on the line. We did that because we thought our agreement with the client would be honored.”
via Judge in $3 billion Petrobras securities case cuts class lawyers’ fees by $100 million | Reuters.
