April 16, 2023

FTX’s bankruptcy lawyers and advisers pocket $32.5M in February

FTX’s bankruptcy lawyers and advisers pocket .5M in February

February’s round of legal expenses for bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has been published, and it remains a scary figure for debtors.

A series of court filings from April 4 to April 10 detailed the monthly fee statements for February of the law firms involved with FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings, which come to a combined total of around $32.5 million.

The figure didn’t include the recompense for restructuring chief and CEO John J. Ray III, who pocketed $305,000 in February, according to a March court filing.

Ray’s remuneration for March came in at a similar figure, with an April 10 filing showing his total fees and expenses were $329,173.

The FTX chief billed at $1,300 per hour and reported working 255.9 hours for the period of March 1 to March 31. This makes his fees a whopping $327,470, with the remaining $1,703 for airfares, lodging, transport, meals and other expenses.

FTX’s bankruptcy lawyers and advisers pocket .5M in February
John J Ray III’s expenses and hourly billings for the month of March. Source: Kroll

The law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan sought a total of over $2.7 million in reimbursements for February. Partners at the firm billed between $1,246 and $1,917 per hour and associates billed between $747 and $1,183

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