Lawyers Want $5 Million for Columbia Retirement Plan Settlement

Lawyers for Columbia University employees want nearly $5 million in fees and expenses for their work securing a $13 million settlement in a dispute over the school’s retirement plans, according to papers filed in the Southern District of New York.

A fee award of one-third the settlement amount is in line with awards from other Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases, and it is warranted given the complex and demanding subject matter and the 15,477 hours of attorney and non-attorney time it took to secure the deal, the attorneys said in an Aug. 13 motion.

The settlement, which covers a ...