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agreed that Fox & Fox "shall have a lien" for its fees and costs
against any recovery in Mr. Kenseth's action against APV. This
lien by its terms was to be satisfied before or concurrently with
the disbursement of the recovery. The contingent fee agreement
further provided that if Mr. Kenseth should terminate his
representation by Fox & Fox, the firm would have a lien for the
fees set forth in Section III of the agreement, and all out-of-
pocket expenses that had been disbursed by Fox & Fox would become
due and payable by Mr. Kenseth within 10 days of his termination
of Fox & Fox as his attorneys.
Mr. Kenseth and the other members of the class relied on the
guidance and expertise of Fox & Fox in signing the separation
agreement tendered to them by APV and then seeking redress
against APV. Commencing with the advice to Mr. Kenseth that he
could sign the separation agreement without giving up his age
discrimination claim, and culminating with the obtaining by Fox &
Fox of an overall settlement and recovery that substantially
exceeded what EEOC had thought the case was worth, Fox & Fox made
all strategic and tactical decisions in the management and
pursuit of the age discrimination claims of Mr. Kenseth and the
other class members against APV.
Fox & Fox was well aware of the relationship between any
gross settlement amount and the resulting fee that Fox & Fox
would be entitled to. In preparing for and conducting
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