New Bankruptcy Billing Guidelines

Big law firms charging big legal fees in Chapter11 bankruptcy cases are getting some bad news this November, 2013. The United States Trustee Program (USTP) has established new guidelines for setting appropriate legal fees to be charged in larger Chapter11 cases. For purposes of applying the guidelines, larger Chapter11 cases are those that include “$50 million or more in assets and $50 million or more in liabilities, aggregated for jointly administered cases and excluding single asset real estate cases as defined in 11 U.S.C. § 101(51B). Although the guidelines are not mandatory, the USTP is encouraging bankruptcy courts across the country to incorporate the guidelines in their local rules of bankruptcy procedure. Additionally, USTP lawyers intend to enforce and defend the guidelines in bankruptcy courts and through appeals when needed. What does this mean to you? If your company files a large Chapter11 bankruptcy case, it is likely that the legal fees will not skyrocket as they have in past cases. Attorneys will be required to disclose billing rates in other specialties, budgets will be created before the case is filed and any expense overruns will need to be justified. In short, transparency in all legal fees will be required in large Chapter11 cases. We are bankruptcy lawyers who know how to make a difference in your financial situation. We have experience you can rely on and we care about your results. Contact our New Jersey law firm online by filling out the form or by calling 973-323-2953 to schedule a free initial consultation with an attorney at Levitt & Slafkes, P.C..