After four years of courtroom wrangling, a major legal battle between Google and privacy lawyers boils down to one critical issue—legal fees. The plaintiffs’ attorneys from major firms, including Boies Schiller Flexner, Morgan & Morgan, and Susman Godfrey, are pushing for a staggering $217 million in fees. This comes after securing a settlement that forces Google to erase billions of user data records and update its privacy policies for those using incognito browsing.
Google, however, is fighting back. The tech giant argues that the lawyers deserve no more than $40 million, especially since consumers saw no direct payout from the case. The settlement wasn’t certified as a class action, and Google continues to deny any wrongdoing.
The law firms maintain that their efforts are worth between $3 billion and $6 billion to the public, highlighting the significant privacy reforms they’ve achieved. They also point out that they’ve logged over 78,000 hours of work, justifying their hefty fee request.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is now tasked with ruling on this fee clash. During a recent hearing, she expressed concerns about the plaintiffs’ billing practices, including high hourly rates for tasks like document review, calling them “excessive.” She acknowledged the value of the settlement but noted the plaintiffs’ failure to secure damages for users.
As the legal fee debate unfolds, Google’s lawyers remain vocal in criticizing the lawyers’ demands, labeling them as opportunistic. The case remains under consideration, with other privacy-related cases also looking to intervene.
While the spotlight is on Google, the legal fee saga isn’t confined to Silicon Valley. In a separate case, the same judge slashed a $122 million fee request to $107 million in a $490 million settlement with Apple, showing that high-stakes legal payouts are under scrutiny across the tech industry.
