Legal Fee Advisor’s David Paige Quoted in The Deal Pipeline
Posted on July 16th, 2013 by Legal Fee Advisors
The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced a large-scale overhaul of bankruptcy billing guidelines, which will take effect on November 1, 2013. This Reuters article explains in detail some of the key changes, which are the first of their kind since 1996.
Legal Fee Advisor’s own David Paige recently spoke with Aviva Gat, Senior Reporter: Bankruptcy at The Deal Pipeline about the changes, including the fact that new guidelines will hold bankruptcy lawyers accountable for building reasonable budgets and charging reasonable fees.
“It’s like building a huge office building,” Paige was quoted as saying in Gat’s June 28, 2013 article “Altering the playing field” “You wouldn’t do that without a budget.”
Paige was also quoted regarding lawyers who are resisting these changes citing the increased administrative time building budgets requires, an excerpt of the piece featuring his response is included below:
“That type of response shows that lawyers have not considered their ethical obligations or they don’t know their obligations,” Paige said in response to lawyers who balk at preparing budgets. “They should not be charging clients for that time [spent drafting budgets].” Paige said the new guidelines make the bankruptcy lawyer compensation process more like the compensation process in nonbankruptcy litigation, in which, he said, a budget is standard.
“Corporations want to know what they are being charged for,” Paige said. “Budgets help eliminate inefficiencies in law firms and ensure that every professional on a case is contributing necessary services.”
If you have questions or opinions about the ethical obligations that bind lawyers in cases like this, come join the conversation with Paige and other legal fee experts in our LinkedIn group, or contact Legal Fee Advisors here.