Plaintiffs' Firms Turn On Each Other
Plaintiff class action law firm heavyweights Milberg Weiss and Bernstein Litowitz are now squaring off, against each other, to determine which one gets to be lead counsel in a class action suit alleging that Merck defrauded investors about the risks of Vioxx.
In October, Bernstein filed a motion arguing that its client should be allowed to intervene in the Merck litigation because Milberg had neglected to inform the court that it had been fired by its clients. Bernstein also noted that Milberg was indicted in May for allegedly sharing legal fees with class action clients in other cases (allegations that Milberg has denied). Milberg quickly countered, asserting that it had spent thousands of hours on the case and that Bernstein’s motion was nothing more than a belated attempt to grab for itself the counsel leadership of the case.
Regardless of which firm prevails, this appears to be yet another example of the unflattering public squabbles over becoming lead counsel.
