Law Firm Jones Day Bills Chrysler For $12.7 Million
24 Juni 2009 - 11:36PM
Dow Jones News
Law firm Jones Day is seeking $12.7 million in legal expenses
for the bulk of Chrysler Group LLC's bankruptcy reorganization.
The firm is billing the auto maker $12.4 million in fees and
$256,471 in expenses related to the work it handled April 30
through May 31, according to a bankruptcy-court filing.
The bill requires final approval by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge
Arthur Gonzalez. Objections have to be filed by July 10.
The legal expenses provide a hint at what General Motors Corp.
(GMGMQ), which filed for bankruptcy on June 1, could be facing. GM
is attempting to sell off brands, cut dealers and emerge from
bankruptcy by mid-July.
"GM is much bigger than Chrysler and it has multiple creditors
that must be handled, so the bill will be much bigger," said Doug
Bernstein, head of the banking, bankruptcy and creditors' rights
practice at Plunkett Cooney, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Chrysler filed for bankruptcy on April 30 after failing to win
cost concessions from its creditors. The auto maker cut 789 dealers
and merged its assets with Italian auto maker Fiat SpA (FIATY)
during the bankruptcy process.
Jones Day said it reached the total based on its hourly fee of
$476.96 for attorneys and $224.23 for paraprofessionals. The firm
used 72 partners that logged a total of 7,254 hours and generated
$5.17 million in fees.
The firm also said it spent $91,040 on computerized research
services; $52,628 on document reproduction, $62,406 on hotel
charges and $13,231 on air travel. Chrysler filed for bankruptcy in
New York.
--By Jeff Bennett; Dow Jones Newswires;
jeff.bennett@dowjones.com; 248-204-5542
(Matthew Dolan of The Wall Street Journal contributed to this
story.)