(Reuters) - A federal judge in Ohio appointed Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd as lead counsel in a shareholder lawsuit against utility FirstEnergy Corp over alleged bribes to a state lawmaker, saying that in addition to representing the client with the largest loss, he was "impressed" by the diversity of the lawyers on the case.

U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley in Columbus on Monday named Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA) lead plaintiff in the lawsuit seeking to recover damages for a 45% drop in share price after federal prosecutors announced corruption charges.

In addition to finding that LACERA's alleged losses were $1 million greater than California Public Employees' Retirement System's (CalPERS), which is represented by Berman Tabacco and had also sought lead plaintiff status, Marbley said he "looks favorably" on the fact that there are two minority attorneys and a woman on the five-person Robbins Geller team, and diversity within the firm as a whole.

"Lead counsel in this case will represent a large and heterogeneous group of investors, and the court finds that the diverse team put forth by Robbins Geller is well-suited to represent the plaintiffs' diversity and to act on their behalf," he wrote.

Nicole Lavallee of Berman Tabacco did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Tuesday.

During a Nov. 17 hearing on the motions, Marbley had asked the firms to describe their demographic makeup, saying that legal representation in the case should ideally reflect the diversity of the clients.

In addition to providing statistics on his firm in general at the hearing, Darren Robbins of Robbins Geller told Marbley the team representing LACERA included Mark Solomon, a founding partner of the firm's San Diego office who is African British, Danielle Myers, a partner who started at the firm as a paralegal, and Jason Forge, a former federal prosecutor of Middle Eastern descent.

Shareholders sued Akron-based FirstEnergy and its executives in July after then-Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Larry Householder and others including a lobbyist for the company were arrested on racketeering charges. Prosecutors allege Householder, a Republican, and others took $60 million in bribes in exchange for passing a $1.3 billion bailout package for two nuclear plants then run by a FirstEnergy subsidiary. The investors alleged the utility misled investors by saying it was engaging in "dialogue" with lawmakers while carrying out the scheme.

Householder has pleaded not guilty and was reelected in November, according to unofficial results. Two men charged in the case have pleaded guilty, while two others have maintained their innocence.

In Monday's ruling, Marbley also rejected a bid by the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio (STRS), represented by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, to co-lead the case, saying such an arrangement would not be efficient because LACERA did not welcome it and the firms don't have a track record of working together.

The case is Owens v. FirstEnergy Corp. et al, No. 20-CV-03785, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

For CalPERS: Nicole Lavallee of Berman Tabacco and Daniel Karon of Karon

For LACERA: Darren Robbins of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd and Joseph Murray of Murray Murphy Moul + Basil

For STRS: Javier Bleichmar of Bleichmar Fonti & Auld and Gregory Utter of Keating Muething & Klekamp