Our first runners-up this week are lawyers at Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll who got final approval last week of a $1 billion settlement with Wells Fargo & Co. in securities litigation accusing the bank of misleading investors about reforms in the wake of Wells Fargo's 2016 fake accounts scandal. As part of the deal, one of the 20 largest shareholder settlements of all-time, the firms were awarded $180 million, or 18% of the settlement, in attorney fees. U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon in Manhattan approved the deal at a hearing last week, noting that the fee was warranted since the case didn't involve SEC or DOJ action, and the company made no restatements. The Bernstein Litowitz team in court at the fairness hearing included Max Berger, John Browne, Jonathan Uslaner and David Duncan. The Cohen Milstein team included Laura Posner, Steven Toll and Molly Bowen. 

A team led by A. Thompson Bayliss of Abrams & Bayliss and Margaret Allen, Angela Zambrano, Yolanda Garcia and Rob Hochman of Sidley Austin gets runners-up honors for securing a win from the Delaware Supreme Court for client XRI Investment Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Morgan Stanley Energy Partners. Last week the state's high court, sitting en banc, affirmed XRI's breach of contract win against firm co-founder Gregory Holifield and reversed a lower court decision finding the company was precluded from seeking damages from Holifield or recovery of legal fees advanced to him. Bayliss argued the appeal for XRI. The team also included Sidley counsel Robin Wechkin and Abrams & Bayliss associate Eric Veres.

Our next runner-up spot goes to a team at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld that represents Bijan Rafiekian, who was convicted in 2019 of acting as an unregistered agent of the Turkish government and conspiring with former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and others to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act. After the Fourth Circuit earlier this year upheld the firm's latest win granting Rafiekian a new trial, federal prosecutors this week dismissed the case. Akin partner James Tysse argued the appeal. The trial team was led by partners Stacey Mitchell and Mark MacDougall and included Tysse, counsel Adam Bereston, associates Samantha Block and Madeline Bardi and senior legal assistant Adria Hicks, with local counsel from Robert Trout of Schertler Onorato Mead & Sears.