A $500MM fine is a bit beyond "shame on you for taking dirty money".
I doubt any marketing firms working for Purdue was fined $500MM despite contributing to the same outcome. And that's because they didn't have the same impact.
The justice system metes out punishment relative to one's contribution to the crime.
The fine seems related to the amount of damning quotes that came from McKinsey produced materials. They left a bigger paper trail than anyone else.
Like this sort of thing:
"One was to give distributors a rebate for every OxyContin overdose attributable to pills they sold. The slides are notable for their granular detail.
For example, McKinsey estimated that 2,484 CVS customers would overdose or develop an opioid use disorder in 2019 from taking OxyContin. CVS said the plan was never implemented."
Not implemented, so didn't end up being effective. But damn.
They didn't want it in court because it would have made a documented legal precedent around liability.
"One former partner called the settlement hugely significant because it shatters the distance that McKinsey — which argues that it only makes recommendations — puts between its advice and its clients’ actions. For decades, the firm has avoided legal liability for high-profile failures of some clients, including the energy company Enron and Swissair, Switzerland’s defunct national airline."
1. I think that’s making a guess into their intentions which we’re not qualified to do
2. Even if we take #1 for granted, the $500MM figure is still based on something. The counter-party could’ve settled for $100MM or insisted on $1B but they reached that number for a reason.
