Attorney General Pam Bondi Names BP Claims Co-Counsels

The attorney generals office has announced the law firms that will serve as co-counsel for the states claims lawsuit in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon spill: Nix Patterson & Roach LLP; Harrison, Rivard, Duncan & Buzzett; Fowler White Boggs PA; and Harrison Sale McCloy.

After an open and competitive process, Attorney General Pam Bondi has selected an expert legal team, which will work under the control of the attorney generals office, to serve as co-counsel for the state of Floridas economic claims relating to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a release from the office stated.

The state has until April 2013 to file a lawsuit. Florida officials must seek financial claims against BP under the Oil Pollution Act, and those claims must be rejected before a lawsuit can be brought forward.

BP leased the oil-drilling platform that exploded in April 20, 2010, killing 11 workers.

Florida was not part of the suit in which Judge Carl J. Barbier of the Federal District Court in New Orleans issued an order a week ago to award victims of the BP oil spill $7.8 billion in damages.

The attorney generals contract requires that the legal team and agency first seek to have all attorneys fees, costs and expenses paid by one or more of the parties legally responsible for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The attorney generals office negotiated a contingency fee arrangement that is far below the contingency fee permitted by state law. The legal teams contingency fee will never exceed 2.5 percent of the gross recovery on economic claims -- half of the 5 percent contingency fee legally permitted.

The outside counsel has been retained on a contingency fee rather than an hourly basis.

Nix Patterson has an office in Grayton Beach, Fla. This firms experience includes: serving as lead and co-lead counsel in multi-district securities and consumer class actions; serving as lead counsel in mass toxic tort and environmental cases; and representing the state of Texas in major litigation. As a result, the firm has recovered more than $20 billion for its clients.

Harrison, Rivard, Duncan & Buzzett and Harrison Sale McCloy are also located in Panama City. Carl Nelson, of Fowler White Boggs PA, is a statewide law firm.

Others that applied to be part of the team:

1. Duane Morris LLP.
2. The Hogan Law Firm with: Foote, Meyers, Mielke & Flowers; Wiggins Childs Quinn & Pantazis; Mellon Webster & Shelly; Lemmon Law Firm; and Jan R. Schlichtmann.
3. Beggs & Lane with: Balch & Bigham LLP.
4. Bajo Cuva Cohen & Turkel PA.
5. GrayRobinson with: Chalos OConnor, LLP and Robert W. Wells.
6. Berger Singerman LLP with: Kuykendall & Associates LLC and Charlotte H. Danciu PA.
7. Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik LLP.
8. Clark Partington Hart Larry Bond & Stackhouse with: Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz.
9. Galloway, Johnson, Tompkins, Burr and Smith.