UK Firms May Be Losing Legal Fees in Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy
Since law firms with unpaid legal fees are treated like any other creditor, the top London legal shops that have been advising Lehman Brothers in corporate matters could lose hefty amounts of legal fees as a result of the bankruptcy of the investment bank.
“City firms including Ashurst, Allen & Overy (A&O), Linklaters, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Lovells all sit on Lehman’s U.K. legal panel, with the bank estimated to spend some 40 million pounds ($72.5 million in U.S. dollars) in legal fees globally each year,” reports Legal Week.
And a substantial amount of those legal fees, the publication suggests, may not yet have been paid. If so, it could take years to collect perhaps only part of what is owed.
As bankruptcy counsel for Lehman Brothers, however, Weil Gotshal & Manges can expect a lucrative gig, since its legal fees take priority.
Related coverage:
Kansas City Star: “KCK-based Epiq Systems to handle claims work in Lehman bankruptcy”
