FTX lawyers bill $30 million for February

FTX, which is undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, received invoices from lawyers and financial advisers for February. The total amount exceeded $30 million, The Block reports, citing the filing.

According to the filings, fees were billed by Sullivan & Cromwell, Landis Rath & Cobb, AlixPartners, Perella Weinberg Partners, Alvarez & Marsal North America and Owl Hill Advisory. These are fees and expense reimbursements.

In total, six firms in February logged more than 35,400 hours. The largest bill was from Sullivan & Cromwell — $13.5 million for 12,127 hours of work. An additional $82,000 is listed as expenses.

The firm noted that its specialists examined the scope and character of clients’ rights in the bankruptcy case, collected and organized corporate records, and also acted on behalf of FTX in matters Voyager Digital and Celsius Network.

According to the publication, Sullivan & Cromwell partners bill up to $2,165 per hour, while advisers and assistants have lower rates. In February, partner Bryan Glukstein billed the exchange $526,000 for his work.

Other bills include:

• Alvarez & Marsal North America — $12 million for 17,000 hours of work and $229,000 in expenses;
• Landis Rath and Cobb — $583,000 for 874 hours (+$11,000 for expense reimbursements);
• Perella Weinberg — $450,000 (+$78,000);
• AlixPartners — $3 million (+$5,000).
• Owl Hill Advisory — $308,000.

Earlier involved in the bankruptcy, FTX lawyers estimated their services at roughly $20 million. The largest amount was billed by Sullivan & Cromwell — $9.5 million for work from November 12 to 30, 2022, as well as $105,000 for other expenses.

In February earned $690,000 for the period from November 11 to December 31, 2022.

In late March, Forbes sources reported that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried directed funds from a gift to his father, which had been borrowed from the platform, to cover litigation costs.

As reported in April, FTX did not have basic accounting and financial controls and was run by a small group of individuals, said to be characterised by arrogance, incompetence and greed.