Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has requested a probe of the U.S. Trustee's initiative to overhaul how counsel is compensated in large chapter 11 cases. On November 1, 2013, new rules for attorney pay in large chapter 11 cases go into effect. The U.S. Trustee hopes the guidelines will dispel the perception that lawyers take advantage of large corporate bankruptcy cases to charge expensive fees of $1,000 per hour or more. In a letter yesterday, Senator Grassley asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office to review whether the new fee guidelines will “prevent excessive fees in the future and, if not, whether legislation is needed to address this problem.”
The new guidelines will be discussed in a Bar Association of San Francisco program set for today. Click here to register.