Legal News

Baker and Hostetler, Madoff Trustee Seek $15.5 Million in Fees

By Amir Efrati

Baker and Hostetler and its new star bankruptcy partner, Irving Picard, who are shepherding the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, just filed their first fee requests in the case.

The numbers: $14.7 million for Baker and about $759,000 for Picard, who billed at a rate of nearly $700 an hour. The Securities Investor Protection Corp., a brokerage-funded group that assists customers of failed brokerages, is picking up the tab. Click here and here for the fee requests.

The bodies: Baker used more than 80 partners and of counsel, plus about 100 associates.

In its fee request, Baker cited a wide array of work, including winding down the Madoff firm's operations and coordinating efforts with federal authorities investigating the fraud.

As the Madoff trustee, Mr. Picard has filed lawsuits seeking about $15 billion worth from individuals and firms who made significant withdrawals from the Madoff firm in the years before its collapse, though lawyers say it's unlikely he will be able to recover most of that amount. He is also negotiating settlements with numerous parties. (Prior posts on Baker and Picard here, here, here, and here.)

Among other things, Baker is helping to sort through thousands of claims made by victims of the fraud, though some victims have sued him, saying he isn’t properly accounting for their losses. Picard has paid out $168.4 million in customer claims, according to a report the trustee filed yesterday. [End of post]

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on July 10, 2009 (boomark / email).