The attorneys and professionals in the Weinstein Co. bankruptcy case have received $26 million in fees thus far, considerably more than the $17.1 million that Harvey Weinstein’s victims will receive.

A trustee charged with recovering money for crime victims of former Las Vegas Attorney Robert Graham has spent more than four years looking for assets and filed about 500 court documents.

A trustee charged with recovering money for crime victims from former Las Vegas prosecutor Robert Graham has spent more than four years searching for assets and has filed about 500 court documents.

Purdue Pharma has developed a habit that’s hard to quit: paying out bankruptcy bonuses to top executives.

COVID-19 has impacted virtually every sector of the U.S. economy. Struggles in one sector caused ripple effects on others when stay-at-home orders halted or curtailed normal business operations. Unemployment has reached historic levels, and in April, consumer confidence dropped to its lowest point since 2014 and has yet to rebound to pre-COVID-19 levels. Hertz, Neiman Marcus and JCPenny are just some of the corporations that have already filed for bankruptcy.

For the past three years, Jamaine Thomas has commuted by train and bus one hour each way from his apartment in the Bronx to his job at the Fairway Market in Harlem. Even through New York's darkest days of the Covid-19 pandemic, Thomas sliced provolone and Boar's Head meats behind the deli counter and made pizzas, salads and sandwiches for the café—all for $16 per hour. That's about $33,000 per year, plus benefits.

As someone who studies professional fees in large chapter 11 cases, I’ve thought a lot about how quickly those professional fees can escalate. Successful chapter 11 bankruptcies are expensive, though, in almost all cases, the end result—a successful reorganization—is a good result. But can the fees be controlled effectively?

In Episode 13 of Non-Compliant, we had the first part of our conversation with Processor Nancy Rapoport. During the episode, we discussed how COVID-19 will permanently redefine how lawyers work and their need for a physical workspace, fee arrangements, and how cases are billed. In part two of our conversation with Professor Rapoport, we focus on the impact of COVID-19 on law firm staffing, the hiring and recruitment process, and diversity initiatives.