A U.S. bankruptcy court judge in New York approved $17 million in fees and expenses Thursday for advisers working on Dewey & LeBoeuf's Chapter 11 case, but not before a few minutes were spent celebrating how swiftly the Dewey proceedings have moved along compared to the bankruptices of other failed firms.
Dewey filed for bankruptcy May 28, 2011, and won approval of its Chapter 11 liquidation plan nine months later—a fact that lead Dewey bankruptcy lawyer Albert Togut was quick to note Thursday. In addressing the court, Togut, of Togut Segal & Segal, also highlighted the record amount of secured debt at issue, approximately $230 million, versus the sums at stake in other law firm bankruptcies, and the quickness with which the firm filed for bankruptcy protection after disbanding as among the other challenges that made the pending fee applications worthy of approval.
