Bankruptcy Law

Bankruptcy Filings Up 31% in 2008; Mortgage Foreclosures Hit New High

Bankruptcy and foreclosure litigation are likely to remain hot practice areas as the economy continues its free fall and housing values plummet. Newly released statistics show a 31 percent increase in bankruptcy filings in 2008, compared to the previous calendar year, and mortgage delinquencies are at an all-time high. Mortgage…

Mar 5, 2009 7:59 PM CST

Corp. & City Bankruptcies May Surge; Bank Failures Deplete FDIC Coffers

After a banner year for company bankruptcies in 2008, a surge of new filings is now expected as the nation’s financial crisis continues. Meanwhile, a series of bank failures has depleted the coffers of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Because of the credit shortage, a number of companies may be…

Mar 4, 2009 7:20 PM CST

Heller Asks Ex-Clients Considering Malpractice Claims to Sue Now

The dissolved law firm Heller Ehrman is inviting former clients considering malpractice claims to file suit, and to do so quickly. Heller is spending about $20,000 to print notices in major publications inviting former clients who want to sue to do so before malpractice insurance coverage expires, Legal Pad reports.…

Mar 2, 2009 7:20 PM CST

Bankruptcy Boom Raises Legal Stars’ Pay; $5M a Year for Luc Despins

Bankruptcy lawyers are once again seeing their heyday as law firms seek to lure them on board with big-bucks salaries. The paycheck for Luc Despins, who jumped to Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker last fall, is $5 million a year, report the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) and the Wall…

Feb 26, 2009 1:36 PM CST

Alleged $3.5B Petters Ponzi Scheme Racks Up Another $1.6M in Legal Bills

An alleged $3.5 billion Ponzi scheme that a Minnesota businessman is accused of operating for a decade is keeping a number of Twin Cities law firms busy. The latest legal fee requests concerning the ongoing civil and criminal cases against Tom Petters total $1.6 million, reports the Star Tribune. The…

Feb 24, 2009 6:54 PM CST

Bankruptcy Judge Nixes Sidley’s Top $1,100 Hourly Rate, OKs $925

In a hearing today, a federal bankruptcy court judge in Wilmington, Del., said he won’t OK a top $1,100 hourly fee requested by Sidley Austin in a newspaper company’s case. But U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Kevin Carey approved a top hourly fee of $925 in the Tribune Co. bankruptcy, Bloomberg…

Feb 20, 2009 9:03 PM CST

Madoff Made No Trades for Perhaps 13 Years, Trustee Says

A whistleblower who pointed the finger at alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme architect Bernard Madoff for many years before he was criminally charged claimed that Madoff’s claimed hedge fund investment profits didn’t conform with options market trading records. Now the trustee who is winding up Madoff’s securities firm says there…

Feb 20, 2009 7:42 PM CST

The Nitty Gritty of Obama’s Mortgage Rescue Plan

The Obama administration will publish rules governing its $75 billion mortgage rescue plan on March 4, the same day that most parts of the plan will take effect. Only a few parts of the plan—such as the call to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages—require Congress to act, the New…

Feb 19, 2009 1:06 PM CST

$75B Mortgage Bailout Detailed, as Foreclosures Clog Courts

As President Barack Obama today announced a $75 billion federal mortgage bailout plan intended to help up to 9 million homeowners avert foreclosure, courts are already busy dealing with a deluge of pending foreclosure cases for which such measures appear to have come too late. And the Homeowner Affordability and…

Feb 18, 2009 10:43 PM CST

NY Bankruptcy Judge Tells Lawyer to Forget About Judgeship

A Manhattan bankruptcy judge has this advice for any high-priced lawyers thinking about judgeships: Fugedaboutit! U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber gave his views on the job on Wednesday during a hearing in the bankruptcy case of Lyondell Chemical Co., according to the Wall Street Journal’s Bankruptcy Beat blog. Gerber spoke…

Feb 13, 2009 3:14 PM CST

Recipients of TARP Bailout Funds Could Be Targeted in Criminal Cases

The Troubled Asset Relief Program has only been in effect a few months. But already it is the subject of potential criminal probes, as a special inspector general also announced what amounts to a rewrite of TARP rules requiring recipients of bailout funds to certify, under penalty of law, that…

Feb 6, 2009 1:32 AM CST

Bankruptcy Boom Boost: US Asks Cadwalder to Advise On Automaker Restructuring

An already-hot practice area apparently is being expanded with the help of a deep-pockets noncorporate client: The feds reportedly are paying top partners at a New York law firm for bankruptcy advice, as the government ponders how best to deal with struggling automakers. “The U.S. Treasury Department hired Cadwalader Wickersham…

Feb 5, 2009 10:54 PM CST

Madoff Lawyer Is Listed as One of His Clients

The lawyer representing Bernard Madoff had invested money with him before the hedge fund manager was arrested on charges he ran a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, according to a list of possible victims filed in federal bankruptcy court. Other investors included pitching great Sandy Koufax and Fred Wilpon, owner of…

Feb 5, 2009 12:29 PM CST

Alleged $50B Madoff Fraud is Keeping a Lot of Law Firms Busy

More than 30 law firms around the world are representing an estimated 3 million alleged victims of the claimed $50 billion Ponzi scheme that Bernard Madoff is accused of running as a purported hedge fund. “Our calculations are that at least 3 million people were affected by the Madoff affair,…

Feb 3, 2009 8:39 PM CST

Lehman Bankruptcy Judge Accused in Domestic Incident

The judge overseeing the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers has been arrested and accused of slapping his wife. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Peck of Manhattan was arrested on Saturday and charged with third-degree attempted assault and second-degree harassment, both misdemeanors, according to Bloomberg and the New York Post. His wife, Judith,…

Feb 2, 2009 7:26 PM CST