A U.S. Supreme Court case that could disrupt the professional fees earned in bankruptcy cases has become a cause of concern to federal government officials, former judges and lawyers from all corners of the industry, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Brief reported today. In a batch of friend-of-the-court briefs filed this week, parties that often have opposing interests in bankruptcy cases uniformly urge the nation's high court to uphold the rights of bankruptcy judges to award adviser fees as they see fit. Specifically, the case — a dispute between the law firm Baker Botts LLP and its former client Asarco — threatens the ability of lawyers, financial advisers and others to be compensated for the time spent defending against objections to their own fee applications.
