Contract records reported that it will award law firm Norton Rose Fulbright more than $156 million in legal fees representing Texas in consumer privacy litigation against Google, which resulted in a landmark $1.375 billion settlement.
The state records, which were received in response to a publicly requested records request, indicate the final statement of fees and expenses that the firm incurred on its work with Texas on a pair of lawsuits that settled in May.
Google had already settled the suit to pay a maximum of $190 million when it reached the settlement agreement. The charges comprise of $1.375 billion in the funds that the state will collect on behalf of its residents.
Therefore, Norton Rose and the attorney general’s office did not respond immediately to requests for comment on Monday.
In an earlier statement, Google indicated that its agreement with Texas “settles a raft of old claims, many of which have already been resolved elsewhere, concerning product policies we have long since changed.” Google had not confessed to any wrongdoing in the settlement.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Google in 2022, claiming that the company had been collecting face geometry and voiceprints of users without their permission, tracking the location of users even when features were disabled, and deceiving users regarding the privacy assurances of Incognito mode, which is supposedly designed to allow users to browse privately.
Paxton announced in October that the state accord “sends a clear warning to all of Big Tech” that his office will bring consumer protection actions against companies to defend the data and privacy of Texans.
The private law firms regularly collaborate with state Republican and Democratic attorneys general in the largest lawsuits. The Texas legal team at Norton Rose included Joseph Graham, who is the leader of the litigation department at the firm in Houston. The company has more than 3, 000 lawyers in the United States, Europe, and the rest of the markets.
