The professional services firms working on Howrey's bankruptcy proceedings have collected their fees nearly 10 months after the defunct antitrust specialist voted to dissolve (9 March), writes The Am Law Daily.

US bankruptcy court judge Dennis Montali approved the firms' professional fee applications last week (14 December), awarding Washington DC-headquartered Wiley Rein and financial adviser Protiviti the full amount of their professional fee applications.

Wiley – debtor's counsel to Howrey during its five-month wind down – was awarded the full sum of $1.03m (£665,000), while Protiviti, whose $1.15m (£743,000) fee request was the case's largest professional services bill, also saw its full application approved.

Howrey's largest creditor Citibank, which is being advised by bankruptcy partner Kelley Cornish at US firm Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison in relation to the proceedings, earlier this year urged Howrey to instruct Diamond McCarthy managing partner Allan Diamond to advise when the case was converted to a Chapter 11 proceeding.

Diamond subsequently advised its client that none of the five professional service firms which worked on the case should be allowed to collect more than 80% of their requested fees.

As a result, Silicon Valley bankruptcy boutique Murray & Murray – the solo practice of former Howrey partner Richard Burdge – and accounting firm Salter and Company received fourth fifths of their professional fee applications worth $119,235 (£77,000) and $655,122 (£423,000) respectively.

Both Wiley Rein and Protiviti have already received partial payments for their work on the matter, and Montali authorized the two firms to draw down on their retainers to pursue the rest.