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A comment on The Equifax breach may be the worst leak of personal info ever. Parent comment

Re:The Equifax breach may be the worst leak of personal info... by stult on Friday September 08, 2017 @11:16AM (#15200823)
>the lawyers who managed the case (sometimes for years!) take most of the payout

This meme is part of the problem. The lawyers take maybe a third of the settlement, after bearing most of the costs of litigation themselves, which they would still bear if they lost. It's high risk/high reward. Lowering the reward just means no lawyer will take the case.

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Re:The Equifax breach may be the worst leak of personal info... by maxerickson on Friday September 08, 2017 @11:25AM (#15200912)
Quibbling over "most" is beside the point.

There is a real issue where the incentives for the lawyers don't line up well with the interests of the class. The lawyers likely do pretty well if they settle a huge case for tens of millions and the main thing that happens for the class is they can't file a lawsuit anymore.

The financial penalty for the company is better than nothing, but it often isn't all that much and often doesn't do the class any real good either.

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