Lawsuit Alleges Lawyer for Jewish College Students Profited by Preying on His Clients
“allegedly refused to give the plaintiffs his firm’s billing records from their case, while his cut totaled more than $6.4 million — well over half the settlement’s total payout”
This is a horrible story. These students were already dealing with an awful situation.
The New York Post reports:
Lawyer for Columbia University’s Jewish students netted $6.4M payday while preying on own clients: lawsuit
A high-profile lawyer who became one of the nation’s most prominent advocates for Jewish college students after Oct. 7 netted a whopping $6.4 million payday from a settlement with Columbia University — by preying on his own clients, a shocking new lawsuit claims.
Marc Kasowitz’s firm had represented 43 Jewish and Israeli students who alleged Columbia failed to protect them during the violent anti-Israel protests and encampments that engulfed the Ivy League campus in Manhattan after the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks on Israel.
The plaintiffs said that at first, they were thrilled to be repped by Kasowitz, a veteran Manhattan litigator who was the legal face of a national campaign against campus antisemitism.
“When Kasowitz rode in on his white horse and was like, ‘Hey, we’re gonna fix this and make this right,’ I was like, ‘Hell, yeah,’ ” said Miles Rubin, a 31-year-old Columbia graduate and former Israel Defense Force reservist whose friends were killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault, to The Post.
Kasowitz’s firm eventually reached a confidential mega-settlement with Columbia over the students’ accusations earlier this year, according to the new lawsuit, which was filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Sunday.
But Kasowitz then allegedly refused to give the plaintiffs his firm’s billing records from their case, while his cut totaled more than $6.4 million — well over half the settlement’s total payout, court documents claimed.
The top lawyer also allegedly distributed the remaining settlement proceeds through a secretive non-appealable process and threatened that students who refused to sign the deal would have to proceed without his firm’s representation, according to the complaint.
“Plaintiffs, all young students, had already endured harrowing antisemitic harassment on campus during the historic unrest following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, but never expected to be taken advantage of by the very lawyers they trusted to protect them,” the new suit alleges.
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Horrible story, if true.
Marc Kasowitz has an excellent reputation. Trump’s personal lawyer, David Friedman was a name partner, and Joe Lieberman was of counsel. I’m not ready to believe this of him just because of a NY Post report. But if it turns out to be true, then explanations are called for.
Back in 1982, I found a law firm to take my case on a contingency basis with the law firm only taking 25%. At some point in the mid-1990’s, I received a check from Allstate for $6 and a lot of papers covered in fine print. It turned out that it was a class action suit, with a settlement in billions of dollars, and the law firm got 50% of the settlement. Of course, there were many people in the class, I wish Allstate hadn’t settled since it needed the billions much more than I needed $6. I could understand the law firm getting 50%. More than that seems ridiculous. Of course, I’m an engineer, not a lawyer.
Sounds like the usual class action lawsuit. Attorneys collect the lions’ share of the judgment while individual plaintiffs get crumbs. And very small crumbs. Basically, class action suits are scams perpetrated by the lawyers who gin them up. Every one in which I’ve received a notice has been started by lawyers who see an opportunity for a big payday, try to find a willing primary plintiff, and then send out solicitations for people to join the suit. The more plaintiffs, the bigger the payoff if they win.
But here’s the thing: it takes them no longer to represent 10,000 plaintiffs in the suit than it does to represent one. They just get a bigger paycheck. Biggest settlement fee I’ve seen go to a plaintiff is less than $100. Smallest to lawyers is millions.