Dearbail Jordan
The boom in restructuring fees for US lawyers is continuing unabated as Conseco becomes the latest bankruptcy to add to the growing cash pile.
According to a recent bankruptcy filing, a total of $10.2m (£6.3m) in fees and expenses have so far accumulated on reorganising the US financial services group, which filed for Chapter 11 protection last December.
Over half, or $5.67m (£3.5m), has been billed by the debtor's counsel Kirkland & Ellis for the period ended in February. The deal adds to the hefty fees Kirkland is earning on the giant United Airlines restructuring, which has seen the firm rack up $5m (£3.1m).
By the end of February, Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson, as the bondholders' counsel, billed $933,300 (£580,700), while Philadelphia's Saul Ewing is hoping to be reimbursed to the tune of $373,400 (£232,300).
PricewaterhouseCoopers, which at $990 (£616) per hour for each of the two senior managers involved, has so far billed $448,500 (£279,000).
It is widely expected that the fees could escalate even further, since Conseco, at $6.4bn (£4bn), is the third-largest bankruptcy in US history, following those of Enron and Worldcom.
