Concerns have been raised by U.S. District Judge William Orrick regarding the apparent lack of diversity among the plaintiffs’ firms involved in the Juul Labs Inc. settlements, despite his allowance for up to $150 million in attorney fees to proceed. During a hearing, the Judge, based in the Northern District of California, underscored his disappointment about the conspicuous diversity deficit among the 62 firms presenting the litigation. Notably, none of the lawyers from these firms identified as Black or Latino.
According to the judge, the stark absence of lawyers from these minority groups within the major firms involved, or as representatives put forward by these firms, is troubling. “There are excellent lawyers throughout this country who are not being involved in these MDLs”, Judge Orrick commented, stressing on the importance of remedying this diversity lag in such significant cases, which form a substantial portion of the caseload.
While presiding over this case, the judge reinforced that the courts, as well as the firms, must strive to improve diversity, thereby promoting a fair and just representation.