Two Law Firms Set to Gain $300 Million from Texas Biometric Privacy Settlement with Meta

Two private law firms that played a pivotal role in Texas securing a $1.4 billion biometric privacy settlement with Meta Platforms, Facebook’s parent company, could collectively earn over $300 million in legal fees for their efforts, according to contracts they signed with the state.

The Texas Attorney General’s office enlisted Chicago-based Keller Postman and Dallas-based McKool Smith in 2022 to sue Meta over biometric privacy issues, agreeing to two potential payment structures. One option allocates 11% of the recovery to each firm, which translates to approximately $154 million each from the settlement.

The alternative payment structure involves an hourly rate for the lawyers, which can reach up to $945 per hour, multiplied by four. However, the contracts stipulate that the firms will receive the lesser amount between the two options, ensuring they do not collect more than the 11% contingency fee. The total hours worked by the firms have not been disclosed.

According to Reuters, which obtained the contracts through a records request, Keller Postman and McKool Smith are required to submit a final written statement detailing their fees and expenses within 60 days of the Meta biometric privacy settlement being “fully executed.”

Zina Bash, a partner at Keller Postman and former senior counsel to Texas’ Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, served as lead counsel in the Meta case. In an email, she emphasized the challenges faced by her firm: “Our team spent countless hours and advanced millions of dollars to help bring this momentous settlement to fruition,” she stated, highlighting that they contended with “an aggressive defendant with limitless resources and an appetite for challenging every conceivable aspect of our case.”

Source: Reuters