

Ask HN: Are the “High-Tech Employee Antitrust” Fees Normal?  Excessive? - wdr1

I received a notice in the mail today regarding the class action suit.  I noticed the fees for the suit are north of $86,548,500.<p>Are these types of fees normal?<p>Even if normal, are they reasonable?  That&#x27;s an honest question -- I&#x27;m not familiar with the law, so perhaps there are a lot of costs I&#x27;m simply unaware of.<p>Honestly, part of the reason I&#x27;m questioning it is that a member of the suit, I&#x27;ve found them really disappointing.  I had a pretty basic question &amp; emailed the address they provided for questions.  It was a full 92 days before anyone responded.<p>For $86 million I guess I would hope for better than that.
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MichaelCrawford
"I've been doing litigation for twenty years. The only ones who ever win are
the lawyers." \-- Tyler Paetkau

It's commonly the case that the members of the class in a class action lawsuit
receive very little of the money, while the law firm gets most of it. I feel
that's wrong but that's commonly the case.

I'm not real sure what you can do about it.

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trcollinson
There are a number of variables which go into this sort of calculation. There
is no doubt that attorneys make a fair bit of profit in these class action
suits. But you must also realize that there is a lot of work and risk that
goes into a class action. First, a law firm will be tied up, entirely, for
months at minimum, and often more reasonably for years. And we're not talking
a single attorney in most cases. We're talking about a partner or two, a few
associate attorneys, all of their legal secretaries, and supporting staff.
This is not to even mention the consultants and others needed to get the suit
even off the ground in court. This is a huge amount of salary to keep up.

Next you have other costs such as filing fees, notification to the affected
parties, copying fees (this is no small amount per month), research costs, and
validation costs. All of this adds up quickly. Trust me the list goes on and
on.

Now for the kicker. There is no promise or guarantee that the suit will win.
Most class actions don't. So the attorneys of record for the plaintiff side
take on all of the liability of these costs, for however long as the suit is
in process. This is a huge level of business risk, spanning sometimes many
years. Imagine an investor taking on this level of risk in a technical
company? They will want a substantial reward at the end. Thus, the level of
fees associated.

Remember also that of the plaintiff loses, they often have to pay the
defendant legal fees, which are also sizable. This is a huge risk.

Finally, it's unfortunate that they didn't email you back promptly. But
remember, in a class action you are not really their client. You are their
means to an end. It's a rough relationship.

