Lehman bankruptcy fees top $1 billion

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc on Monday said it has paid more than $1 billion to its lawyers, consultants and financial advisers since filing the largest US bankruptcy two years ago.                

Professional and other fees totaled $1.01 billion through September 30, up $51.8 million from $961.3 million a month earlier, a filing with the US bankruptcy court in Manhattan shows.

Lehman's bankruptcy is the costliest in US history, surpassing Enron Corp and WorldCom Inc, according to UCLA Law School professor Lynn LoPucki.                                           

Alvarez & Marsal LLC, the restructuring adviser that is winding down Lehman's operations, has been paid $356.4 million, more than any other entity, Monday's filing shows. The firm's co-founder Bryan Marsal is Lehman's chief executive.                                           
 

Law firms have collected a majority of the remaining fees, led by lead bankruptcy counsel Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, which has been paid $237 million, the filing shows.                                           
 

"The Lehman bankruptcy dwarfs in size and complexity any other bankruptcy in history," Marsal said in an emailed statement. "Our creditors recognize this and also recognize the value they are receiving."                                           
 

Lehman sought Chapter 11 protection on September 15, 2008, and its filing was a major cause of the global financial crisis.  

The company then reported $639 billion of assets, roughly six times more than WorldCom and 10 times more than Enron. 
 

Lehman was once the fourth-largest US investment bank. It hopes to win court approval of its bankruptcy plan in the first quarter of 2011.                                           
 

Among other law firms involved in the bankruptcy, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, which represents the official committee of unsecured creditors, has been paid $71.2 million, Monday's filing shows.                                           
 

Jenner & Block LLP, whose chairman Anton Valukas detailed causes of Lehman's bankruptcy as its court-appointed examiner, has been paid $57.8 million, while Jones Day, which handles litigation, has been paid $38.3 million, the filing shows.        

Lehman has sued Barclays Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and other banks to recover well over $20 billion.                                             
 

The case is In re: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 08-13555.