US Trustee Stands By Changes To Ch. 11 Fee Guidelines
By Hilary Russ, Law360
Law360, New York (February 08, 2012, 8:28 PM ET) -- The U.S. Trustee Program defended itself Tuesday from a barrage of criticism from top law firms and others who say proposed updates to the Chapter 11 billing guidelines threaten to create administrative, financial and ethical problems for bankruptcy attorneys.
"Written comments from many of the largest law firms reflect the view that the current system for reviewing attorneys’ fees does not require reform," Jane Limprecht, a spokeswoman for the government, told Law360 in an email. "The [U.S. Trustee] disagrees and believes current fee applications do not provide sufficient information to allow the court and others to evaluate whether law firms are charging premium fees — that is, fees that are above those charged in nonbankruptcy cases and that are not allowable under the Bankruptcy Code."
Limprecht also said the U.S. Trustee's office was reviewing more than 20 comments on the new guidelines that it had received before the Jan. 31 cutoff date for public comments. The office first proposed the updates for Chapter 11 fee applications in major corporate cases — the first such changes in 15 years — in November.
The U.S. Trustee's office, as a watchdog over bankruptcy cases, already has the ability to review fee applications, and the courts must ultimately approve attorneys' fees. The proposed guidelines lay out six main areas of focus, including the submission of data electronically and the use of budgets to help guide work. But more than 100 law firms around the country signed off on comments criticizing some provisions of the planned changes.
