Things seemed to be going well for Labaton Sucharow in November 2016. The New York-based law firm, a big name in investor class actions, was about to reap a $27 million fee for its work on behalf of State Street clients who negotiated a $300 million class settlement with the bank. A Boston judge applauded the firm for taking on a “novel, risky case” involving allegedly hidden bank fees.

A month after the deal was approved, however, The Boston Globe reported that Labaton and its co-counsel had double-counted some attorneys’ time, inflating the value of their hours worked by about $4 million.