A federal judge on Monday appointed three attorneys to lead the proposed class actions over the oil spill off the Orange County coast, litigation that comes as the U.S. attorney’s office pursues criminal charges against three companies.

Wylie Aitken of Aitken*Aitken*Cohn, Lexi Hazan of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein and Stephen Larson of Larson LLP are interim co-lead counsel in 13 lawsuits consolidated by U.S. District Judge David Carter in the Central District of California.