FTX’s bankruptcy lawyers and advisers pocket $32.5M in February

11 April 2023

in XDC

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February’s round of legal expenses for bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has been published, and it remains a scary figure for debtors.

A series of court filings from April 4 to April 10 detailed the monthly fee statements for February of the law firms involved with FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings, which come to a combined total of around $32.5 million.

The figure didn’t include the recompense for restructuring chief and CEO John J. Ray III, who pocketed $305,000 in February, according to a March court filing.

Ray’s remuneration for March came in at a similar figure, with an April 10 filing showing his total fees and expenses were $329,173.

The FTX chief billed at $1,300 per hour and reported working 255.9 hours for the period of March 1 to March 31. This makes his fees a whopping $327,470, with the remaining $1,703 for airfares, lodging, transport, meals and other expenses.

John J Ray III’s expenses and hourly billings for the month of March. Source: Kroll

The law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan sought a total of over $2.7 million in reimbursements for February. Partners at the firm billed between $1,246 and $1,917 per hour and associates billed between $747 and $1,183 per hour. The total number of hours billed for the firm was nearly 2,610.

Source: Kroll

April 4 filings for the law firm Alvarez and Marsal and forensic investigation consultant Alix Partners detailed their February fee statements totaled over $11.9 million and around $3.6 million, respectively.

The largest amount sought was from law firm Sullivan and Cromwell, which billed a total of over $13.4 million for work carried out for FTX in February by their burgeoning team of lawyers and associates.

Sullivan and Cromwell’s employees collectively spent over 12,000 hours working on FTX in February. Source: Kroll

Meanwhile, on the lower end of the scale, investment banking firm Perella Weinberg Partners billed $77,891, while bankruptcy co-council Landis Rath and Cobb invoiced $582,604 for February.

Related: FTX financial controls were a ‘hodgepodge’ of apps, says court filings

Advisors and lawyers for the bankrupt exchange billed a similar amount in January, with FTX shelling out $34.18 million for their combined services in January, according to earlier court documents.

The fees, reimbursements, and expenses that FTX has forked out to its phalanx of lawyers, associates, paralegals, accountants, investigators, directors and executives remain tough to swallow for customers still waiting for recompense.

The bankruptcy is far from over, and it’s reported that Sullivan and Cromwell alone will reap hundreds of millions of dollars before the firm’s bankruptcy investigation wraps up.

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