The law firm leading the charge to recover the funds that Bernard Madoff stole from investors is seeking payment of $40.1 million for four months of work during which an army of lawyers struck deals to recover hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a report yesterday on Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review. Liquidation trustee Irving Picard and his law firm, Baker & Hostetler LLP, on Wednesday filed papers asking a bankruptcy judge to authorize the fees as well as to release $12 million in previously approved fees that haven't yet been paid. Since Mr. Picard was tapped in December 2008 to oversee the liquidation of Mr. Madoff's investment firm — a complex case that has required litigation all over the world — his firm has sought compensation of about $700 million, according to court papers. The fees Baker & Hostetler is seeking cover 97,115.5 hours of work performed, for an average hourly rate of $413.30, between Dec. 1, 2014, and March 31. Mr. Picard and his team said that during that time, they settled 63 lawsuits, allowing them to recover $552.6 million in stolen funds that will be returned to victims of Mr. Madoff's Ponzi scheme. Such "significant results" warrant payment of the fees, Baker & Hostetler attorneys said in the filing. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan will review the request at an Aug. 20 hearing. Mr. Madoff was arrested in December 2008 on charges of running a Ponzi scheme, the biggest of all time. He pleaded guilty in May 2009 and was later sentenced to 150 years in prison. He is serving his sentence at the federal prison in Butner, N.C.
