A federal judge overseeing the dispersal of more than $7.2 billion to shareholders of defunct Enron Corp. has awarded $688 million in attorney fees to San Diego’s Coughlin, Stoia, Geller, Rudman & Robbins, lead counsel in the case.
“The Court finds that in the face of extraordinary obstacles, the skills, expertise, commitment, and tenacity of Lead Counsel in this litigation cannot be overstated,” wrote U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon, for the Southern District of Houston, who, in her ruling on Monday, referred to Coughlin Stoia as “a lion” in the securities bar. “Not to be overlooked are the unparalleled results, $7.2 billion in settlement funds, which demonstrate counsel’s clearly superlative litigating and negotiating skills.”
