In one of his final orders before his retirement from the bench in a few days, Judge William Alsup issued a strong rebuke of the Bartz Class Counsel’s motion for attorneys’ fees beyond the 2 firms appointed class counsel, Susman Godfrey LLP and Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP.
The motion for attorneys’ fees will be decided later in 2026 by a judge assigned to take over the Bartz case after Judge Alsup’s retirement.
But Judge Alsup made clear his strong disapproval of any fees to the 3 other firms: (1) Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard LLP; (2) Edelson PC; and (3) Oppenheim & Zebrak LLP.
The undersigned would not permit class counsel to inflate and/or to divert any part of its court-approved fee award to cover work done by lawyers not court-approved to represent the class. There is a high risk that class counsel has invented or will invent makework for the three firms to “justify” their bonanza. The judge sees a genuine danger that class counsel has promised these firms amounts far in excess of their billable rates in exchange for using their influence with publishers (in one case) and with authors (in another) to support the settlement rather than opt out (reducing the risk that Anthropic would exercise its right to abort the settlement if more than a certain percentage opts out), all at the expense of the class.
Judge Alsup
This memorandum should not be read as merely opposing a multiplier for these three firms. It should be read as opposing any award at all for these firms, including any award from any fees paid to class counsel. And, it should be read as questioning whether class counsel performed its work the right way (the $225 million part) if it let unapproved firms do so much.
Excerpt from Judge Alsup’s order:
DOWNLOAD JUDGE ALSUP’S ORDER
