The St. Louis Business Journal story, “Blitz Bardgett to Share in $21M in Legal Fees in A.G. Edwards Case” reports that St. Louis based law firm Blitz Bardgett & Deutsch will share $21 million in legal fees for the five-year legal battle in the class action lawsuit against A.G. Edwards.  Three law firms served as co-lead counsel, including Stull Stull & Brody and Milberg LLP, both are expected to receive a larger portion of the attorney fees.  Seven other law firms will receive smaller amounts.  The $21 million in attorney fees would comprise 35 percent of the $60 million settlement.  Documents on how the law firms are splitting the fees are not including in the court records.

The underlying case alleged that the brokerage company inappropriately received kickbacks from “preferred mutual fund” providers.  The suit claimed the revenue-sharing arrangements amounted to a conflict of interest and breach of fiduciary duties, and that the firm should have disclosed the arrangements to its clients.  The suit claims A.G. Edwards gave bad investment advice as a result, such as telling people to hold on to certain stocks when they would have been better off selling them.