Professional Compensation/Fees

Denial of Receipt by Itself Won’t Defeat the ‘Mailbox Presumption,’ District Judge Says

Special counsel unfamiliar with bankruptcy procedures weren’t excused from the requirement to file a final fee application by the deadline.

How and Why We Avoid Conflicts of Interest: The Relevance of Conflict Checks in Turnaround Work

From its inception, the National Ethics Task Force [1] was charged with answering the question of whether there is a need for national ethics rules, standards and general practice guidance in the bankruptcy context.

Uncommon and Controversial, Are Post-Petition Retainers Authorized Under the Bankruptcy Code?

Bankruptcy courts have not always favored post-petition retainers to debtor’s counsel. [1] But does the Bankruptcy Code prohibit them? That is exactly the question Judge David D. Cleary answered in In re Golden Fleece Beverages Inc., in which he held that the Code indeed supports post-petition retainers. [2]

Fifth Circuit Clarifies Scope of Permissible Compensation of Estate Professionals Under 11 U.S.C. § 330(a)

On January 14, 2022, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit in In the Matter of Sharon Sylvester (Sylvester vs Chaffe McCall LLP) held that a trustee’s attorney is entitled to compensation under Bankruptcy Code § 330(a) “only for services requiring legal expertise that a trustee would not generally be expected to perform without an attorney’s assistance.” [1]

Bankruptcy Courts Have ‘Core’ Power to Order Fee Disgorgement, Third Circuit Says

Being seen at bar events in the company of those who appear in court doesn’t show judicial bias.

Examining Venue, Ethics and Bad-Faith Issues in 2020/2021 Bankruptcy Filings

Benchnotes June 2022

June 2022

Supreme Court Hears Argument on Constitutionality of 2018 Increase in U.S. Trustee Fees

At oral argument, the justices seemed more concerned about the remedy to give if the dual fee system was unconstitutional.