This lawsuit marks Texas's first under its 2009 biometric privacy law
Two law firms, Keller Postman LLC and McKool Smith, are set to receive substantial legal fees after assisting the state of Texas in securing a US$1.4 billion biometric privacy settlement with Meta Platforms, Facebook’s parent company.
The firms could earn over US$300 million combined, depending on the final method of payment determined by their contracts with the state, Reuters reported.
The contracts between the Texas Attorney General’s office and the two law firms offered two potential payment methods:
- One option grants each firm a contingency fee of 11 percent of the total recovery, which translates to approximately US$154 million for each firm based on the settlement amount.
- The alternative payment method is an hourly rate, with some individual lawyer rates reaching up to US$945 per hour. This hourly fee is subject to a multiplier of four.
The firms will receive payment based on whichever option yields the lesser amount.
Reuters reported that neither Keller Postman nor McKool Smith disclosed the total hours worked on the case. Under the contracts, both firms should submit a final written statement of their fees and expenses within 60 days of the settlement’s full execution.
Background of the case
In 2022, the Texas Attorney General’s office enlisted the services of Chicago-based Keller Postman and Dallas-founded McKool Smith to sue Meta. The lawsuit alleged that Facebook unlawfully captured biometric information from billions of photos and videos uploaded by users through the “Tag Suggestions” feature, which has since been discontinued.
This lawsuit marked Texas’s first under its 2009 biometric privacy law, which permits damages of up to US$25,000 per violation, noted the news release from Reuters.
Zina Bash, partner at Keller Postman and lead counsel in the case, highlighted the complexity of the litigation. Reuters reported that, in an email, she said that the firm faced “an aggressive defendant with limitless resources and an appetite for challenging every conceivable aspect of our case.”
The team dedicated countless hours and advanced millions of dollars to bring the settlement to fruition, Bash added.
McKool Smith echoed this sentiment and expressed pride in its role in securing the historic settlement, according to Reuters.
Meta, which denied any wrongdoing, expressed satisfaction with the resolution of the case to Reuters. Meta looked forward to exploring future opportunities to deepen its business investments in Texas, including potential data center developments, according to a company spokesperson.
The Texas Attorney General’s office did not comment to Reuters on the legal fees.
