Burwick Law
Burwick Law is a New York law firm run by attorney Max Burwick that has filed many of the class actions over memecoins, including suits against pump.fun, the promoters of HAWK and the team behind Libra.[1] The firm earns money only from wins or settlements.[1] The claims below are allegations unless a ruling or settlement is stated.
History[edit]
Burwick is a former US Navy rescue swimmer who had run his own practice for about three years by March 2025; he said recovering "six figures" from a DeFi scam in 2021 led him to take on crypto cases.[1] Critics, including Helium's Noah Prince, called him the "ambulance chaser of crypto", and Consensys lawyer Bill Hughes compared him to "mini-Genslers".[1] Burwick told Cointelegraph Magazine that "Memecoins are not inherently the problem."[1]
Notable cases[edit]
HAWK
On 19 December 2024 the firm filed a federal suit for twelve HAWK buyers against Alex Larson Schultz, overHere and the Tuah the Moon Foundation, alleging the token was sold as an unregistered security; Haliey Welch was not then a defendant.[2]
pump.fun
On 30 January 2025 Burwick Law and Wolf Popper filed a proposed class action in New York federal court against pump.fun operator Baton Corporation and its founders, alleging that its tokens were unregistered securities and that it earned nearly half a billion dollars in fees.[1] In February 2025 the firms sent pump.fun a cease-and-desist over DOGSHIT2 and other tokens using their names and logos; Burwick said the platform had issued "over 200 tokens infringing upon the IP" of the firms and denied creating DOGSHIT2.[3] A July 2025 amended complaint added RICO claims and named the Solana Foundation, Solana Labs, Jito and executives including Anatoly Yakovenko, alleging pump.fun generated $722.85 million from an "illegal gambling enterprise"; Judge Colleen McMahon had earlier consolidated a suit over PNUT.[4]
LIBRA
On 17 March 2025 the firm sued Kelsier Ventures, KIP Protocol and Meteora in the Supreme Court of New York, alleging a "deceptive, manipulative and fundamentally unfair" LIBRA launch that siphoned about $107 million from liquidity pools.[5] In August 2025 Judge Jennifer Rochon lifted a freeze on $57.6 million in USDC held by Hayden Davis and Ben Chow; Davis's counsel called the case meritless.[6]
ai16z and MOTHER
In April 2026 the firm filed a class action in the Southern District of New York against Shaw Walters and Eliza Labs over ai16z; Walters said the team settled by handing over its remaining treasury because it lacked the capital to fight a claim he called "ridiculous".[7] In May 2026 an investor represented by the firm sued Iggy Azalea over MOTHER, alleging its promised utility never materialised.[8]
Timeline[edit]
- 2024-12-19: HAWK suit filed[2]
- 2025-01-30: pump.fun class action filed with Wolf Popper[1]
- 2025-02-05: cease-and-desist to pump.fun over DOGSHIT2[3]
- 2025-03-17: LIBRA suit filed[5]
- 2025-07-23: amended pump.fun complaint adds RICO and Solana defendants[4]
- 2026-04: ai16z class action filed[7]
- 2026-05: MOTHER class action filed[8]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Meet lawyer Max Burwick — 'The ambulance chaser of crypto', Cointelegraph Magazine, 2025-03-05
- ^ 'Talk Tuah Judge': Hawk Tuah Girl's Biz Partners Are Getting Sued Over Meme Coin Disaster, Decrypt, 2024-12-19
- ^ Law firm behind Pump.fun class action demands removal of tokens mocking it, Cointelegraph, 2025-02-06
- ^ Burwick Law names Solana and Jito executives in expanded RICO case against Pump, The Block, 2025-07-23
- ^ LIBRA memecoin orchestrators named as defendants in US class-action suit, Cointelegraph, 2025-03-18
- ^ Libra Promoters Regain Access to $57.6 Million in Crypto After Judge Unfreezes Assets, Decrypt, 2025-08-20
- ^ Eliza Labs founder declares native token 'dead,' winds down foundation after Burwick Law settlement, The Block, 2026-08-05
- ^ Rapera Iggy Azalea Enfrenta Demanda Colectiva por Memecoin MOTHER en Solana, Decrypt (Spanish edition), 2026-05-05