TARP Watchdog Questions Vague Billings by Venable, Other BigLaw Firms
An audit report by the acting inspector general of the Troubled Asset Relief Program has questioned billings by Venable and other law firms, saying that they are often vague and inadequate.
“Venable submitted” and the Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Stability “paid without questioning, fee bills that contained block billing, vague and inadequate descriptions of work, and administrative charges not allowed under the contract says the report, which will be officially released today, reports the Blog of Legal Times.
“As a result, in many instances OFS could not have adequately assessed the reasonableness of the fees.”
Other law firms that worked on the TARP contract were: Bingham McCutchen (as a result of a merger with McKee Nelson); Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft; Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell; and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Additional coverage:
Bloomberg: “Treasury Needs Better Review of TARP Legal Bills, Watchdog Says”
