*

Cohen Milstein, Keller Rohrback eye fees in Coinbase case

*

Debevoise adds non-equity partner tier

*

Elon Musk fails to stop class action firm from hiring

ex-SEC

lawyer

By David Thomas, Mike Scarcella and Sara Merken

June 12 (Reuters) - (Billable Hours is Reuters' weekly

report on lawyers and money. Please send tips or suggestions to

[email protected])

Law firms Cohen Milstein and Keller Rohrback stand to

receive up to a quarter of any settlement or judgment resulting

from a lawsuit Oregon brought against cryptocurrency exchange

Coinbase, according to their contract with the state.

Oregon hired the class action firms and sued Coinbase in

April, alleging that the crypto exchange has been profiting off

the sale of high-risk and unregistered securities to its

residents in violation of state law.

The state is seeking a fine of $20,000 per violation of its

securities law, as well as an unspecified amount of damages and

the disgorgement of Coinbase's profits from Oregon residents.

Coinbase has denied wrongdoing, saying the lawsuit "threatens

to mire a multi-trillion-dollar industry in a patchwork,

state-by-state regulatory framework."

Ryan VanGrack, vice president of legal at Coinbase, said in

an interview that Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield wants to

create "a moat around Oregon that's only going to benefit the

law firms that support him."

Lawyers at Keller Rohrback and Cohen Milstein did not

immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for

Rayfield's office did not respond to a request for comment

regarding Coinbase's criticisms.

It is not uncommon for states to bring in private law firms

for complex litigation, with payment often contingent on a

successful outcome.

According to a copy of the Oregon contract Reuters obtained

through a records request, Seattle-founded Keller Rohrback and

Washington, D.C.-founded Cohen Milstein would receive any

attorney fees paid by Coinbase in a settlement or court order,

or a percentage of the state's recovery, whichever is greater.

The firms would receive 15% of the recovery if Oregon and

Coinbase settle the litigation before the crypto exchange files

a motion to dismiss. At most, they can receive 25% of the

recovery if the case is resolved any time after a jury has been

impaneled.

The contract does not say how the two firms will divide

their potential fee award. A spokesperson for Rayfield's office

said such details are up to the firms.

Oregon's lawsuit against Coinbase was filed two months after

the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under Republican

President Donald Trump dropped a similar lawsuit against the

cryptocurrency exchange. The SEC had accused Coinbase of

arranging trading in at least 13 unregistered tokens.

--Debevoise & Plimpton has created a category of non-equity

partners for the first time, becoming the latest major U.S. law

firm to abandon the traditional single-tier structure in which

all partners have an ownership stake in the firm.

The New York-founded firm confirmed the change to Reuters

this week, without providing additional details. Debevoise,

which has more than 900 lawyers, also voted to keep a "lockstep"

compensation system, the firm confirmed.

Rivals such as Cleary Gottlieb, Paul Weiss and WilmerHale

added non-equity or income partner tiers last year, leaving a

small number of major U.S. firms with single-tier partnerships.

A few of those firms, including Skadden Arps and Ropes & Gray,

are reportedly considering changes.

Many U.S. law firms internally designate some partners as

non-equity or income partners. The move can help retain and

attract lawyers with the clout and higher compensation

associated with the partner title while potentially increasing

profits for equity partners.

Non-equity partners may be promoted from a firm's associate

ranks or hired externally, and they typically earn less than

full equity partners, whose compensation is tied directly to

firm profits.

--Two companies that provide car rental services are

objecting to a request from law firms Cotchett Pitre, Robins

Kaplan and Susman Godfrey for an additional $94 million in legal

fees for their work on automotive antitrust settlements valued

at more than $1.22 billion.

The new fee request covers legal work since 2019 on the

case, which accused auto parts makers of conspiring to fix

prices on a large number of products. The requested amount would

push the firms' total awards to $363 million.

The objectors, represented by the Hamilton Lincoln Law

Institute's Center for Class Action Fairness, said the

plaintiffs' new request improperly seeks fees from prior rounds

of the litigation. The challengers said earlier fee awards

should not be considered "partial." Lead attorneys for the class

did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

--Billionaire Elon Musk failed to block a plaintiffs' law

firm from hiring a former U.S. Securities and Exchange

Commission lawyer who oversaw the agency's lawsuit targeting

Musk's 2022 investment disclosure in Twitter.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein last week approved

New York-based Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann's proposal

to complete its hire of Jorge Tenreiro but wall him off

completely from the firm's lawsuit against Musk on behalf of an

Oklahoma firefighters pension fund.

In addition to being prohibited from working on the case,

Tenreiro would not receive any fee the firm earns, Bernstein

Litowitz said in its proposal.

Bernstein Litowitz did not immediately respond to a request

for comment, nor did Musk's lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart &

Sullivan.

Read more:

Madison Square Garden wants sanctions, lawyers' fees in

ex-NBA player's case

Wegovy maker Novo faces fee demand after losing copycat drug

lawsuit

US agencies face fees over faulty cases, Ford seeks $300

million from lemon law lawyers