The other day I took part in a popular quarantine activity: organizing 100s of GBs of electronic files. I came across an old piece of writing that gave me a chuckle—my objection to the proposed class settlement in Fraley v. Facebook.
I will confess, I never really understood (and I certainly don’t remember) what the case was about. I just remember I was incensed about the amount of fees the plaintiffs’ lawyers were seeking. I’m not opposed to class actions in principle. I think they serve an important regulatory function and, at times, they are the only way to place responsibility for a corporation’s nefarious activities where it belongs: on the corporation.
But I have always hated seeing lawyers seek to profit from their clients. I’m old fashioned in that respect—I think the chance to recover lawyer’s fees should not drive the strategy of a case (what’s best for the clients should drive it). And fees should correspond to the value provided (of which there was little to none that I could see in the Fraley case).
So I channeled my frustration into a four page affidavit that I filed in the Northern District of California where the class action was pending. It’s a writing sample of sorts, it shows the feisty side of my writing style. Imagine what this passion could do for your client’s case!