Labaton Sucharow

Labaton Sucharow was founded in 1963 by Edward Labaton and Lawrence Sucharow.[2] In 2014, The New York Times wrote that Labaton Sucharow was part of "a flourishing industry that pairs plaintiffs' lawyers with state attorneys general to sue companies."[3] The firm has been a donor to state attorneys general associations, candidates, state party committees, and attorneys general running for governor.[4]

Labaton Sucharow represented several state pension funds in a class action lawsuit against the investment management firm State Street Global Advisors. In 2016, the firm won a $300 million settlement against State Street. That year, The Boston Globe investigated allegations that Labaton Sucharow had inflated hourly bills and that its lawyers donated money to state pension fund officials, resulting in a $4.8 million settlement following a report from retired federal judge Gerald Ellis Rosen.[5] Appointed to investigate the allegations, his report accused multiple law firms, including Labaton, of inflating billable hours and showing "a troubling disdain for candor and transparency that at times crossed the line to outright concealment of facts.'"[5][6][7] The New York Times wrote that the firm's "settlement could prompt greater transparency about so-called finder fees paid to lawyers — especially those who do little actual work in a matter" and that the firm's settlement agreement brought attention to "the kinds of behind-the-scenes deals that plaintiffs' law firms reach with other lawyers to build their case."[8]

In 2020, U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf reduced Labaton Sucharow's fee in the State Street case by $10 million after finding the firm failed to disclose an agreement to pay a Texas lawyer who introduced the firm to the pension fund that served as the case's lead plaintiff.[9]

In 2021, French businessman Gerard Sillam and French lawyer Aldric Saulnier claimed that the firm had defrauded them out of fees for introducing Labaton partners to billion-dollar European money-management firms that Labaton sought to represent.[10] In 2022, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon ruled that Sillam and Saulnier could bring a claim against the law firm following its motion to dismiss.[11]

In 2022, the firm and four others won, amounting to $1 billion, the largest stockholder class cash settlement in Chancery Court history against Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell and other defendants.[12]