Crypto collapses generate hundreds of millions of dollars for lawyers

The legal industry has emerged as a major winner amid cryptocurrency collapses like FTX and Celsius, creating numerous millions of dollars for lawyers.Lawyers, accounting professionals, experts, analysts and other experts have actually collected a minimum of $700 million in costs from the personal bankruptcies from major crypto firms over the past year, according to a report and an analysis by The New York Times.The computed quantity consists of the costs charged as part of crypto bankruptcy cases of 5 crypto companies such as FTX, Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, BlockFi and Genesis Global in between July 5, 2022 and July 31, 2023. The figure is likely to grow significantly as the cases unfold in the future, with Sam Bankman Frieds trial being available in October.Fees charged in crypto bankruptcy cases. Source: The New York TimesAccording to the data, the legal specialists involved in the FTX case are the biggest winners of cryptocurrency insolvencies, charging an overall of $326 million. The law company Sullivan & & Cromwell, which handles FTXs personal bankruptcy, has reportedly charged over $110 million in legal fees, in addition to $500,000 in expenses.Andrew Dietderich apparently kept in mind that the costs are especially driven by lack of clear cryptocurrency guidelines, which made the cases more time-consuming and complicated. Kirkland & & Ellis– which deals with Celsius, Genesis and Voyager personal bankruptcies– has billed $101 million for its work, with $2.5 million in costs, the NYT analysts said. Alvarez & & Marsal, a turn-around management company, has actually supposedly charged more than $125 million for its deal with FTX, Celsius and Genesis.Related: SEC v. Ripple: Attorneys leave SEC side, both groups include new lawyersSome of the preliminary reports suggesting that firms like Sullivan & & Cromwell would reap a fortune from its crypto bankruptcy work surfaced in January 2023. The firm apparently had more than 150 individuals dealing with the FTX case at the time, consisting of 30 partners with rates exceeding $2,000 per hour.Amid issues over high legal charges, the United States insolvency court designated Katherine Stadler as charge examiner for the FTX case. In June, Stadler reported that the team dealing with FTX had requested more than $200 million in costs considering that its November personal bankruptcy, mentioning that the fees were reasonable.SBFs legal team is continuing to battle against the U.S. Department of Justice, asking the court on Sept. 1 to reject all current demands by the authority. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, among the DOJs demands included an interest ban all SBFs 7 professional witnesses from affirming in court. Some of the witnesses might cost SBF as much as $1,200 per hour to testify.Magazine: Asia Express: Bitcoin miner gets life in prison, China uses bounties for crypto companies

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