Is a plaintiff's lawyer entitled to premium fees as a part of a settlement?

Where the fee arrangements are a part of the settlement, the court must decide whether the fee arrangements are fair and reasonable, and this means that counsel are entitled to a fair fee which may include a premium for the risk undertaken and the result achieved, but the fees must not bring about a settlement that is in the interests of the lawyers, but not in the best interests of the Class Members as a whole: Smith v. National Money Mart, supra, at para. 22.

Fair and reasonable compensation must be sufficient to provide a real economic incentive to lawyers to take on a class proceeding and to do it well: Smith v. National Money Mart, supra, at para. 23.

Factors relevant in assessing the reasonableness of the fees of Class Counsel include: (a) the factual and legal complexities of the matters deal with; (b) the risk undertaken, including the risk that the matter might not be certified; (c) the degree of responsibility assumed by Class Counsel; (d) the monetary value of the matters in issue; (e) the importance of the matter to the class; (f) the degree of skill and competence demonstrated by Class Counsel; (g) the results achieved; (h) the ability of the class to pay; (i) the expectations of the class as to the amount of the fees; and (j) the opportunity cost to Class Counsel in the expenditure of time in pursuit of the litigation and settlement: Smith v. National Money Mart, supra, at paras. 19-20.