Legal News

Lawyers go back to court for their BAR/BRI settlement fees

By Richard Binder

Law students and others who purchased the BAR/BRI preparation course for state bar exams will get to keep the $49 million settlement they reached with the course makers in 2007.

But attorneys who worked on their behalf will now return to federal court in California to hash out disagreements over millions of dollars in attorney fees, following a Thursday ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The court ruled that Central District Judge Manuel Real was right to approve the class action settlement and nix incentive payments that would have gone to lead plaintiffs after other plaintiffs objected, but said he failed to take into account how the decision to cut the incentives should have affected attorney fees.

Lawyers for the class were set to collect up to $12.25 million in fees under the settlement, but the 9th Circuit ordered Real to reconsider that amount.

Full story at The Recorder.

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on April 24, 2009 (boomark / email).