5 law firms get payout from MD’s Key Bridge case. Here’s how much they made.

The five law firms serving as assistant counsel for Maryland in litigation over the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse will split $167.8 million in contingency fees after the state settlement with the shipowners, according to the state attorney general’s office.

The total contingency fees paid to the firms that were appointed to serve as assistant counsel for the state are slightly under 7.5% of Maryland’s $2.25 billion settlement with the owner and manager of the Dali, according to figures provided by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown‘s office Tuesday.

The decision on how to divvy up the $167.8 million payment was “left to the firms to determine,” a spokesperson for Brown’s office said.

Key Bridge: Everything you need to know

Attorneys at the five firms — Louisiana-headquartered Liskow & Lewis, APLC and Partridge LLC; the Lanier Law Firm and Kelley Drye & Warren LLP of New York; and Hunt Valley-based Downs Ward Bender Herzog & Kintigh, P.A. — did not return requests for comment on the division of the fees. If the firms evenly split the total, each would receive over $33.5 million. 

The contingency fee was paid out of the $2.25 billion recovery from the state’s litigation against the Singaporean firms that own and manage the Dali, Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and Synergy Marine Group. Although the final settlement agreement was signed in May, the shipowners didn’t immediately wire the funds: The state has said in court filings that the agreement was not “fully consummated” as of July 1. The state finally allowed its claims to be dismissed with prejudice as of July 10.

The law firms are expected to continue working with Brown’s office on litigation over the March 26, 2024, bridge collapse, which killed six workers in Baltimore. The state’s settlement with Synergy and Grace Ocean also committed the state to pursue a claim against the ship’s builder, Hyundai Heavy Industries, and share any recovery from that claim with the shipowners.

Brown has not filed a lawsuit against Hyundai, though a spokesperson for his office reiterated Wednesday that the state “intends to pursue claims against Hyundai Heavy Industries for its fault and share of the State’s damages.” 

Key Bridge litigation is hard to keep track of. Here’s a guide.

Some of the private lawyers representing the state have already been compensated outside of the contingency fee arrangement, as “work related to claims against the state” is paid on an hourly basis, according to a spokesperson for Brown’s office. Maryland faces roughly $2 billion in claims alleging that negligence by state agencies contributed to the bridge collapse.

Invoices obtained by The Daily Record show that two firms, Partridge and Downs Ward Bender Herzog & Kintigh, both billed the state for 286.5 hours’ worth of work, totaling more than $126,000. In addition to the defense work, four of the five contractors have sent the state invoices to be reimbursed for more than $960,000 in litigation costs.

Brown’s office picked them in 2024 out of a pool of nearly three dozen proposals involving 64 law firms.

Meanwhile, Baltimore City and County are continuing to pursue damages against Grace Ocean and Synergy. After settling with the state, the men who died in the collapse and several other parties, the shipowners moved to dismiss claims brought by the local governments and businesses that claimed economic damages. U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar paused the planned civil trial last month to consider the shipowners’ motion for a judgment on the pleadings.

More money could be recovered from criminal proceedings against Synergy, which could face a potentially massive fine if convicted of conspiracy charges brought by the Department of Justice earlier this year. The criminal case is set to begin in fall of 2027.

A new bridge over the Patapsco River is expected to cost around $5 billion and be complete by 2030. The state is seeking contractors to rebuild the span, after exiting its contract with Kiewit Infrastructure.