Duane Morris, Troutman Sanders, Munger: Business of Law

Bloomberg reports on the case In re Citigroup Inc. Securities Litigation, in which Center for Class Action Fairness objected to the settlement which would grant the plaintiff's attorneys a large mark-up of billing fees.

Plaintiffs lawyers led by Kirby McInerney LLP are seeking almost $100 million in fees in their $590 million class-action settlement with Citigroup Inc., partly by applying substantial mark-ups for contract attorneys, according to a Dec. 21 filing in the case reported by Forbes.

Ted Frank, a class member and a founder of the Center for Class Action Fairness, objected to the plaintiff lawyers’ fee petition, saying the firms “wildly exaggerated hourly rates.” Contract lawyers who normally might earn about $45 an hour as subcontractors are being listed as lead lawyers with a billing rate of more than $1,000 an hour, Frank said.

Read the full article at Bloomberg Business.