By Mike Scarcella
WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuters) - Prominent U.S. law firm Fenwick & West, which advised FTX before its 2022 blockbuster collapse and bankruptcy, on Friday said it will pay $54 million to resolve claims from FTX customers who alleged the firm helped enable one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history.
Here are the details:
• A preliminary settlement was filed on Friday in the federal court in Miami, Florida, and will require approval by a judge.
• Silicon Valley-founded Fenwick,
known for its work for technology clients, was a lead outside law firm for FTX as the exchange rose to prominence as one of the largest crypto platforms in the world. Fenwick “helped to craft and implement strategies that facilitated FTX’s fraud,” plaintiffs alleged.
• Litigator David Boies and other lead attorneys for the plaintiffs told the court that the Fenwick deal was reasonable and will avoid the risk of long, complex litigation.
• Fenwick in a statement on Friday said it "was not aware of the fraud at FTX, stands by the integrity of its legal work, and disputes wrongdoing of any kind, as we have consistently stated throughout this matter." The firm, which employs more than 500 lawyers, said "we look forward to putting this matter behind us" and focusing on its business.
• The Fenwick settlement is part of a second wave of agreements in the FTX litigation. Earlier accords included settlements with two former FTX executives.
• FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced in 2024 to 25 years in prison for stealing $8 billion from customers in a massive fraud scheme. He pleaded not guilty and has appealed his conviction.
(Reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by Sergio Non and Kim Coghill)
