A federal judge has awarded most of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's recent fee request but denied any further fee awards to the estate of Dewey & LeBoeuf. Both firms represented a receiver appointed to take control of properties and assets of an investment firm tied to a Ponzi scheme.

Denny Chin (See Profile), a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, awarded Freshfields about $1.2 million in its latest fee request on Dec. 23.

Defrauded investors have complained about growing attorney fees as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission's receivership process. But the SEC, in a statement to the Law Journal, defended its practices in monitoring receiverships and scrutinizing fees.