State Street 401(k) Settlement Judge Questions Lawyer Fee Bid

The lawyers who negotiated a $4.3 million class settlement with State Street Corp. over the in-house funds in its employees’ 401(k) plan must explain why they’re entitled to one-third of the settlement value as attorneys’ fees, a federal judge said.

The lawyers said their proposed fee award of more than $1.4 million was less than what they’d be entitled to under their normal hourly rate for services, but they provided no evidence that they actually charge clients the rates they profess to charge, Judge Mark L. Wolf said Tuesday. He chastised the lawyers for failing to address his 2021 opinion ...