Chrysler bankruptcy lawyers rack up $12.7M bill in first month

During bankruptcy, just about everyone involved with the affected company is going to feel the pain in some form. That is, of course, unless you're a lawyer. New York law firm Jonas Day has represented Chrysler during its time spent in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and Automotive News is reporting that the firm billed $12.7 million for the month of May alone. That figure included 72 partners working on the case, in addition to another 193 lawyers chipping in. About $256,000 of that figure accounts for expenses, and the rest encompasses some hefty legal fees.

We're not all that surprised that it takes over 250 lawyers to execute a Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Chrysler's magnitude in only 40 days, but the figures for the firm's head lawyer, Corinne Ball, are staggering. Ball booked 15 hours a day, seven days per week for the entire month, at a bill rate of $900 per hour! That's $401,310 to you and I. On average, lawyers on the case billed $477 per hour, while paralegals came in at $224.

How much does it cost to feed 266 lawyers for a month? $5,878. That's about $20 per person for three meals, seven days a week. Taxi fees? $4,247. Document copying was a hefty $52,000 and hotel bills rang up at $62,000. Recession? What recession? Those numbers are pretty large, but in the end, results are worth big money. And getting a company the size of Chrysler out of bankruptcy in 40 days is no small task.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/25/chrysler-bankruptcy-lawyers-rack-up-12-7m-bill-in-first-month/

hahahahaha shit I chose the wrong fiel... oh, wait.


FUCK

I thought of you, Wally.

You should see if that head lawyer chick is single.

Here's her bio.

http://www.jonesday.com/cball/

It doesn't say she's married!

How is a paralegal billing $224 an hour?

VS wrote:How is a paralegal billing $224 an hour?

haha I noticed that too. I don't know. Top-flite New York based bankruptcy law firm in this economy? They can pretty much charge what they want in a case like this.

Still, that's over twice what I charged as a Student-at-Law, and around $100 more (after currency conversion) than a first or second year associate would charge here.

6 K for feeding 266 people for a month is not a lot at all.....

Olds wrote:6 K for feeding 266 people for a month is not a lot at all.....

That's because they're all at their desks eating fast food.

Keep in mind that's almost $7000 canadian. Huge difference.

this is why all these clowns get into big law.

the irony is that it's the ibankers that were making the real dough for so long and rubbing it in the lawyers' faces. now the tides have turned.

tides have turned.

have turned.

turned.