The firm went from riding the heights of global practice to the depths high-profile insolvency in the span of a few months – and now the professionals advising on the bankruptcy are braced for the next round of controversy as they attempt to justify an eye-watering bill of nearly $15 million.

Head of the queue

A report on the AmLaw Daily web site says that a dozen professional advisers – including law firms, financial and restructuring experts – have filed a court claim for $14.8m to cover the first five months of Dewey’s bankruptcy proceedings. Heading the pack is New York-based specialist law firm Togut Segal & Segal, with a bill of some $4.7m.
According to the report, the firm’s named partner, Al Togut, racked up 943 hours advising on the bankruptcy at a rate of $935 for each of them. But it was Mr Togut’s partner, Scott Ratner, who really put in the time, clocking 1,218 hours, albeit at the slightly more reasonable rate of $800 per 60 minutes.

Embattled former partners

The report goes on to say that the law firm spent most of that time dealing with disputes, as litigation costs came in at $1.4m, followed by partner settlement negotiations, which accounted for another $675,000 of the total bill. The firm also managed to spend nearly $22,000 on photocopying expenses.
Other law firms in the costs queue include international practice Brown Rudnick, which has billed the official committee of unsecured creditors $2m for its advice, and New York-based Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman, which submitted a fee note of $1.3m to what the web site describes as the ‘embattled’ official committee of former Dewey partners.