Declaration Of Helen J. Hodges In Support Of Lead Counsel's ...

and the necessary involvement with the bankruptcy proceeding in New York, the
selection of competent, experienced and committed Lead Counsel has even greater
import than in normal securities class actions. In reviewing the extensive briefing
submitted regarding the Lead Plaintiff/Lead Counsel selection, the Court has
found that the submissions of [Coughlin Stoia] stand out in the breadth and depth
of its research and insight.
Enron, 206 F.R.D. at 458.
23. Months after the negotiation and signing of the Enron fee agreement, the General
Counsel’s office of The Regents in July 2002 negotiated and signed a separate fee agreement with
Coughlin Stoia in connection with The Regents seeking to be appointed lead plaintiff in the Dynegy
Securities Litigation. It provided:
We have agreed upon the following fees as a percentage of the recovery for
the class: $0-$200 million, 8%; $200-$400 million, 9%; $400 million+, 10%. The
higher percentages apply only to the marginal amounts.
Ex. 4. The Dynegy litigation ultimately resulted in a recovery of $474 million for the class. The size
of this litigation was dwarfed by Enron as recognized by The Regents resulting in much lower break
points on the incentivized fee. The Regents’ General Counsel James Holst represented to the district
court overseeing the Dynegy litigation in connection with the settlement and fee application, that:
The Regents possess substantial expertise in financial matters and legal
affairs. The Regents also has the benefit of relying upon an accomplished
professional staff, which includes financial professionals and a legal staff with
over 35 in-house lawyers. Our legal staff includes lawyers with extensive
experience in securities class actions and tobacco industry actions. As described
further below, our office has gained significant experience monitoring securities
class action litigation through our participation in the In re Enron Corp. Securities
Litigation. I have direct oversight responsibility for all litigation conducted on the
University’s behalf. The volume of such litigation is substantial and much of it is
high profile, complex litigation.
In December 2001, The Regents applied for appointment as Lead Plaintiff in
the Enron litigation. At that time, The Regents carefully considered its choice of
Lead Counsel. This office reviewed the qualifications and resources of a number of
class action specialist law firms and retained outside class counsel which possess the
financial resources, skill, experience and track record to obtain optimum results for
the Class. It selected Lead Counsel, then Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach
LLP (“Milberg Weiss”), now Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP
(“Lerach Coughlin”), on the basis of its attorneys’ extensive experience representing
- 15 -