The attorney appointed to oversee attorney fees in the Detroit bankruptcy is starting to run up large fees himself.
Judge Rhodes, the bankruptcy judge presiding over the Detroit bankruptcy has been very strict on attorney fees for consumer bankruptcy attorneys filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. It is interesting to see that the review of legal services deserves much higher fees in the mind of the judge opposed to attorneys actually servicing cases for individuals generally.
Hourly rates are typically cut very low by bankruptcy Judge Rhodes when reviewing attorney fee applications in consumer bankruptcy cases. In this case, the City of Detroit will be on the hook for the large fees incurred by the bankruptcy attorney fee reviewer.
In bankruptcy, even keeping track of fees takes a lot of fees.
The committee of advisers assigned to monitor the city of Detroit’s spending on attorneys and consultants during its Chapter 9 bankruptcy today submitted an invoice for their first month of oversight.
The bill for August? $47,897.35.
The city has agreed to pay the fees for monitoring its own legal spending.
Robert Fishman, the fee examiner appointed by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes to ensure that Detroit’s fees don’t become exorbitant, charged $28,407.85, according to a bankruptcy filing. His hourly rate is $600.
Fishman’s legal advisers charged $14,028.70. His financial advisers charged $5,460.80.
Consultants and attorneys charged with guiding Detroit through bankruptcy and restructuring have already secured contracts worth more than $62 million, the Free Press reported Sunday.
Detroit Free Press: http://www.freep.com/article/20130930/NEWS01/309300132/Robert-Fishman-fee-examiner-Detroit-Chapter-9-bankruptcy
