Willis Analyzes Ninth Circuit Decision on Class Counsel Attorneys’ Fees

Litigation partner Jane Willis co-authored an article, “Ninth Circuit Brings Greater Scrutiny to Class Counsel’s Fees in In re Mercury Interactive Corp. Securities Litigation,” for Bloomberg’s Class Actions Report, Securities Law Report, and Securities Litigation & Enforcement Report. The article explores the implications of the Ninth Circuit’s recent opinion in Mercury Interactive, the first federal appellate decision to hold that class members in a class action must be given an opportunity to object to class counsel’s attorneys’ fees motion after that motion is filed with the court.

The authors argue that “Mercury Interactive correctly rejected a common practice among district courts to set class members’ objection deadline before the deadline for the attorneys’ fees motion, which left class members with insufficient opportunity and information to contest class counsel’s proposed fees.” Noting that “the plaintiffs’ class action bar will not welcome Mercury Interactive,” the authors contend that the decision “will likely result in greater scrutiny of motions for attorneys’ fees and help to ensure the fairness of fee awards.”

A copy of the article can be found here.