Wells Fargo 401(k) Settlement Gives Lawyers $20 Million Payday

The lawyers who negotiated an $84 million class settlement benefiting participants in Wells Fargo & Co.'s 401(k) plan were awarded more than $20.3 million in fees and expenses.

Judge Laura M. Provinzino on Monday granted final approval to the settlement, which the workers described as the largest ever recorded in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case involving an employee stock ownership plan. She also awarded class counsel all their requested fees and expenses, and approved $25,000 service awards for each of the three class representatives.

The settlement, which covers about 425,000 participants in Wells Fargo’s 401(k) plan who ...