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.
[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd | Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
len simpson 2:41PM (6/25/2009)
First rule taught in all law schools: "common sense will not win a case"
How many lawyers are there in DC?
Was it a Roman that said, "first we kill all the lawyers" ?
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Sea Urchin 2:50PM (6/25/2009)
Greeks called them, gaping azz holes
letstakeawalk 2:59PM (6/25/2009)
In the Fundamental Constitution of Carolina (written by John Locke), there is a ban on lawyers being paid for their service.
"70th: It shall be a base and vile thing, to plead for money, or reward; nor shall any one, (except he be a near kinsman, nor farther off than cousin german to the party concerned) be permitted to plead another man’s cause, till before the Judge, in open court, he hath taken an oath that he doth not plead for money or reward, not hath, nor will receive, nor directly, nor indirectly, bargained with the party whose cause he is going to plead, for money, or any other reward for pleading his case."
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/ssc/primary_resources/pdf/Constitution_of_South_Carolina_1669.pdf
Jared 3:11PM (6/25/2009)
Actually, the first rule is "the lawyers always win, and everyone else loses."
Justin 2:42PM (6/25/2009)
Good! Nothing is for free, tax payers should know this.
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MRX19 2:45PM (6/25/2009)
What do you call a cruise ship full of lawyers sinking....A good start. Seriously, who never looses in any situation - the lawyers. $900 an hour??? Next time you complain about the cost of medical care just imagine what the trial lawers have contributed.
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Aki 2:49PM (6/25/2009)
Lawyers wouldn't be lawyers if they didn't overcharge and if they didn't bill you for 36-hour work days. Quite the creative mathematicians they are.
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letstakeawalk 3:48PM (6/25/2009)
I used to have a job that paid in 15-minute increments. If I worked even one minute past a new interval, I was paid as if I had worked the entire 15. It didn't take long to figure out that by taking well-timed breaks and clocking in/out at the right minute, I could "work" and therefore get paid a few extra hours each week.
Great job: working four strategic minutes = getting paid for one hour
Of course, that was retail long ago; now I'm self-employed. No more shenanigans!
Phil Perman 2:49PM (6/25/2009)
As much as people have lawyers, anyone willing to put in 15 hours a day, every day for 40 days straight to get the job done deserves some credit
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hardingsan 2:56PM (6/25/2009)
hey, because i'm sure he was grinding away for 15 hours everyday.
get real.
Seminole 3:14PM (6/25/2009)
The guy charging $900 an hour wasn't working 15 hour days. The peeon just out of law school geting 5% of that was.
Max Palmer 3:39PM (6/25/2009)
Yeah but consider what 5% of the 400k+ figure is, and you'd be one happy peon.
Nightcrawler 4:11PM (6/25/2009)
"The guy charging $900 an hour wasn't working 15 hour days."
I'd guess the guy charging $900 an hour is actually a girl, based on their name (Corinne)
Who 'Dis? Who 'Dat? 2:55PM (6/25/2009)
Say what? At those rates Chrysler will be back in court filing bankruptcy for owed legal fees.
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zfarmer 2:54PM (6/25/2009)
You really have to consider that she is not netting $900/hr. There are a lot of overhead costs that come out of an attorney's billable hours. I am not going to speculate how much Ms. Ball is making, but I am sure it is not $900/hr. I personally know of attorneys out there who charge upwards of $1200 to $1500/hr, and we are not talking about NY lawyers either, who historically are some of the top paid.
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Ian 4:29PM (6/25/2009)
And the para legal isn't netting the $224 either but the overhead ie the cost of the office, heating, phone systems etc is spread across them all. For an engineering firm working for Chrysler the over head would also cover the photocopying but that's charged as an extra.
And the 15 hours a day 7 days a week, what BS.
Bottom line is these leeches along with the accountants (bet the law firm has lots of them too) are the reason American's pay so much for anything that doesn't originate outside the states, health care being a prime example.
BigWill 3:00PM (6/25/2009)
The firm is Jones Day, not Jonas Day. You must be thinking about the Jonas Brothers, who probably could have represented Chrysler since Obama and the PTFOA had already preordained what was going to happen. The Jonas Brothers probably would have been cheaper, too.
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Seminole 3:16PM (6/25/2009)
Excuse me, I shouldn't have called her a "The guy."
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Seminole 3:18PM (6/25/2009)
Bah! I shouldn't try to work and make a comment at the same time. Not only did I not reply to the right person, but I manged to mess up the grammar as well...
BigWill 3:29PM (6/25/2009)
You're excused. I think it was a Freudian thing with that "Ball" last name.