Democratic Firm Asks For $1.2 Million For Rothstein Work
Broward’s premier Democratic law firm is earning money like Repubicans.
Berger Singerman– the downtown firm where national Democratic fund raiser Mitch Berger is majordomo — has asked for more than $1.2 million for handling the bankruptcy of scamster Scott Rothstein’s law firm.
For less than three months work!
Scott Rothstein: Lawyers Cashing In On His Fall
Federal documents indicate that 19 Berger Singerman lawyers billed for the case most at rates in excess of $400 an hour. Six Berger Singerman lawyers billed upward of $500 an hour.
The highest rates $560 an hour were billed by name partner Paul Singerman and colleague Charles Lichtman.
“It is a significant amount of money, and there will be significant legal fees that will continue to accrue. There is a massive amount of work, firm partner and bankruptcy expert Singerman told Browardbulldog.org.
The documents in the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler firm bankruptcy also threw light on why a number of ex-reporters are looking to be legal aides — 13 paraprofessionals at the firm billed hourly rates of $185-$195.
Berger did not bill for Rothstein work, so he apparently did no work on the case. He was a senior adviser to Al Gore and has been a leading voice in Democratic politics in Florida for two decades.
Berger has packed the firm with fellow political heavyweights.
Lichtman has been Florida Democrats point man at the polls on Election Day in 2008 and 2004. He was the co-lead counsel for the Ds on the 2000 presidential recount along with another firm lawyer, Lenny Samuels.
Others firms are also asking for money at an April hearing. They include Miami-Dade accounting firm Berkowitz Dick Pollack & Brant ($611,640), and the law firm Genovese Joblove & Battista ($324,805).
“The firms has agreed to accept much less now than they claim they are owed 65 percent less in Berger Singerman’s case because there’s not enough money in the bankruptcy estate of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler. If their requests are approved, they would be entitled to receive that money later if funds are recovered, according to the BrowardBulldog.org.
BrowardBulldog.org also has a post on this subject.
March 12th, 2010 at 7:27 am
Buddy – while an interesting headline, there is really nothing unusual about this type of request from lawyers representing creditor’s committees or major businesses in bankruptcy.
The rates quotes are around the same for firms smaller and less established than Berger Singerman. The amount of paper that will be generated in a major bankruptcy is astounding given the number of creditors, adversary hearings, etc.
I served on a creditor’s committee for a major bankruptcy (although smaller than RRAs) and I realized that I should have focused on bankruptcy in law school rather than on other areas.
The fees are astounding but the technical knowledge lawyers must have to be top notch in that field is equally astounding and the good ones are worth every penny they bill (whether they recover it or not in the end is a separate issue).
March 12th, 2010 at 7:54 am
Like always, the lawyers will get their money off the top and the creditors will be left with empty hands. It is wrong and its got to change.
March 12th, 2010 at 7:56 am
You mean they’re not working for free? The outrage.
I didn’t realize that the color of money was Democrat or Republican, red or blue. I thought photos of dead government officials adorned our money, not elephants or donkeys.
You and another blogger who report on local issues have both brought up how much money is being billed by the attorneys. Which, I don’t even think is newsworthy. I’m not sure why you decided to make this about Democrat/Republican political differences.