The judge overseeing the August 1998 settlement will now review those requests — which were capped at 1.8 percent of the award, or about $22.5 million — and decide how much the attorneys should receive. Judge Edward Korman is scheduled to hold a hearing on the requests Jan. 5.
Roman Kent, an Auschwitz survivor who chairs the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors, had harsh words for the nine attorneys who submitted the bill.
“First it was the Germans, then it was the Swiss and then it’s the lawyers stealing everything,” said Kent, who said the settlement with the banks was reached through the political and diplomatic efforts of Jewish groups and American officials and not the lawsuits that were filed.
Kent said he was not opposed to lawyers recouping “reasonable” expenses.
Attorney Robert Swift, who is handling the group’s request for fees and expenses, rejected the criticism, saying it was the lawsuits that led to the settlement.
“The litigation was central to the whole negotiations and we were central to those negotiations,” he said, adding that Jewish groups demanded to be involved in the out-of-court settlement “at the last minute.”
“It’s important for lawyers to get remuneration in human rights cases” or else the cases will not be taken, said Urbach, whose father survived the Holocaust.
Swift asked the court for nearly $3 million in fees and expenses for 2,520 hours of work, while Urbach has asked for about $2 million for 3,938 hours. Attorney Edward Fagan asked for the most, nearly $4 million in fees and expenses for 6,299 hours. Fagan did not return two calls to his New York office.