Professional Compensation/Fees

Supreme Court Seems Disinclined to Pay Refunds for Overpayment of U.S. Trustee Fees

Several justices seemed to believe that ‘prospective relief’ is sufficient to remedy the due process violation because the alternatives are ineffective.

Lender’s Attorneys Paid Twice the Debtor’s Counsel Fees

Unnecessarily holding the lender’s feet to the fire resulted in the allowance of attorneys’ fees to the lender that were twice the debtor’s counsel fees.

Co-Chairs’ Corner

The Ethics and Professional Compensation Committee had a tremendous 2023! We strived to continue to provide our members with enlightening and useful substantive information, while also offering enjoyable and valuable social and networking opportunities.

During 2023, our committee offered a wide variety of opportunities for ABI members to learn about timely and interesting issues facing professionals in the bankruptcy arena.

Practical Overview of Lawyers’ Use of AI and Billing

Increasingly, consumer bankruptcy lawyers will be using AI in the future. It therefore is incumbent upon them to develop procedures and policies for its use and in billing for such services. Doing so will be a combination of art and science controlled by both ethical and practical considerations. Because its use is in an embryotic phase, standards are still being developed, and the area is plagued by a dearth of both case law and statutory guidelines. Practitioners also have to be cognizant that AI is a rapidly and ever-changing tool characterized by advances made on a constant basis.

U.S. Trustee Rebuffed in Objecting to Rates Higher than Local Rates

‘National’ rates higher than ‘local’ rates can be locked in by retention orders under Section 328(a).

BAP Lays Down Pleading Rules for Fee Applications in Small Chapter 7 Cases

The fee application by an attorney for a chapter 7 trustee in a small case must state facts to show why the services must have been performed by an attorney, not by the trustee.

Benchnotes February 2024

Feb 2024

To Use or Not to Use: Ethics and the Use of AI in the Legal Industry