Editing 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 Tuah|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
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
### 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 [[Peanut the Squirrel|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 pool|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 Iggy|MOTHER]], alleging its promised utility never materialised.[^8]

## Timeline
- 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
- [[ZachXBT]]
- [[Bubblemaps]]
- [[YZY]]
- [[JELLYJELLY]]
- [[Broccoli]]
- [[Sahil Arora]]
- [[Rug pull]]
- [[Bundling]]

## References
1. [Meet lawyer Max Burwick — 'The ambulance chaser of crypto'](https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/max-burwick-lawyer-sue-pump-fun-ambulance-chaser-of-crypto/), Cointelegraph Magazine, 2025-03-05
2. ['Talk Tuah Judge': Hawk Tuah Girl's Biz Partners Are Getting Sued Over Meme Coin Disaster](https://decrypt.co/297943/hawk-tuah-hailey-welch-meme-coin-lawsuit), Decrypt, 2024-12-19
3. [Law firm behind Pump.fun class action demands removal of tokens mocking it](https://cointelegraph.com/news/burwick-law-cease-and-desist-pump-fun-tokens-ip), Cointelegraph, 2025-02-06
4. [Burwick Law names Solana and Jito executives in expanded RICO case against Pump](https://www.theblock.co/post/363996/burwick-law-names-solana-and-jito-executives-in-expanded-rico-case-against-pump), The Block, 2025-07-23
5. [LIBRA memecoin orchestrators named as defendants in US class-action suit](https://cointelegraph.com/news/burwick-law-file-class-action-libra-memecoin-scandal), Cointelegraph, 2025-03-18
6. [Libra Promoters Regain Access to $57.6 Million in Crypto After Judge Unfreezes Assets](https://decrypt.co/336060/libra-promoters-regain-access-57-6-million-crypto-judge-unfreezes-assets), Decrypt, 2025-08-20
7. [Eliza Labs founder declares native token 'dead,' winds down foundation after Burwick Law settlement](https://www.theblock.co/post/410774/eliza-labs-native-token-dead), The Block, 2026-08-05
8. [Rapera Iggy Azalea Enfrenta Demanda Colectiva por Memecoin MOTHER en Solana](https://decrypt.co/es/366869/iggy-azalea-demanda-memecoin-mother-promesas-falsas-inversores/), Decrypt (Spanish edition), 2026-05-05