The legal counsel representing the investors and shareholders in the Enron case are requesting a record fee of $688m (£350m).
Accountancy Age, 04 Mar 2008
The legal counsel that represented Enron Corp. shareholders and investors has requested fees of $688m, thought to be a record for a legal brief.
Enron Corp are set to receive $7.2bn as part of the lawsuit filed by Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP, after the collapse of the energy company, news agency Associated Press reported.
US district judge Melinda Harmon has yet to make a decision on the amount to be awarded to the plaintiffs and fees to be paid to the legal counsel.
If the requested fee is paid to the San-Diego based law firm, it will be the largest fee granted in a securities fraud case.
Patrick Coughlin from the legal counsel had said that the fee reflects the agreement of 9.5% share of the settlement, his law firm made six years ago when they first took on the case, he added: 'the plan is doing whatever it can to help employees get whatever they can'.
Coughlin stressed that the firm was claiming well below the standard 33% rate and that the fee was justified due to the complexity and risk of the case.
The payout to Enron Corp resulted in settlements made with financial institutions such as Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase & Co and Citigroup.
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