The latest round of legal fees for bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has been released, and it remains a frightening sum for creditors. From April 4 to April 10, a series of court documents outlined the monthly fee statements for February of the law firms participating in FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings, which totaled roughly $32.5 million.
The amount did not include compensation for restructuring leader and CEO John J. Ray III, who received $305,000 in February, according to a March court filing. Ray’s March income was similar, with an April 10 report showing his total fees and costs were $329,173.
The FTX chief was paid $1,300 per hour and worked 255.9 hours between March 1 and March 31. This totals $327,470 in fees, with the remaining $1,703 for tickets, hotel, transportation, meals, and other expenses.
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan sought more than $2.7 million in reimbursements for February. The firm’s partners charged between $1,246 and $1,917 per hour, while associates charged between $747 and $1,183 per hour. The firm’s total number of hours billed was roughly 2,610.
According to April 4 filings by law firm Alvarez and Marsal and forensic investigation specialist Alix Partners, their February fee statements totaled more than $11.9 million and $3.6 million, respectively. The most money was demanded from law firm Sullivan and Cromwell, which billed a total of more than $13.4 million for services done for FTX in February by their growing team of lawyers and associates.
In February, Sullivan and Cromwell staff worked on FTX for nearly 12,000 hours. Kroll is the source. Meanwhile, investment banking company Perella Weinberg Partners billed $77,891 in February, and bankruptcy co-council Landis Rath and Cobb billed $582,604 in February.
According to prior court filings, advisors and lawyers for the bankrupt exchange were billed a similar amount in January, with FTX paying $34.18 million for their combined services.
The fees, reimbursements, and expenditures paid by FTX to its phalanx of lawyers, associates, paralegals, accountants, investigators, directors, and executives continue to be difficult to swallow for consumers who are still waiting for compensation. The bankruptcy is far from complete, and it has been alleged that Sullivan and Cromwell would receive hundreds of millions of dollars before the firm’s bankruptcy probe concludes.
