FTX Advisors Billed the Bankrupt Firm For a Whopping $103M in Q1

Over the first quarter, the law firms and consulting companies helping cryptocurrency exchange FTX through its bankruptcy proceedings are expected to receive a combined $103 million.

According to various court documents, between April 28 and May 2, five companies—Sullivan & Cromwell, Alvarez & Marshal, AlixPartners, Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, and Landis Rath & Cobb—billed FTX a total of $36.4 million in March.

The March billing totals were higher than the $34.2 million and $32.5 million of January and February, respectively.

The largest payment was to the New York-based legal firm Sullivan & Cromwell, which added $14.1 million in fees and expenditures for March to $44.4 million for the first quarter. The firm’s partners earned $2,165 per hour, while paralegals and legal analysts received $425 and $595, respectively, for their work.

Alvarez & Marsal, a consulting company, was billed more than $13.8 million in March for the tens of thousands of hours spent on avoidance measures, financial analyses, and accounting processes.

The company, FTX’s restructuring counselor since Sam Bankman-Fried’s old empire filed for bankruptcy on November 11, received its third consecutive invoice of more than $10 million.

Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Landis Rath & Cobb, two related legal firms, charged FTX $3.19 million and $644,000 in March for totals of $7.3 million and $1.9 million, respectively, throughout the first three months.

As FTX’s special counsel, Landis Rath & Cobb has spent most of its time in court, participating in hearings and going through litigation processes. The FTX case has been given to over 180 attorneys from Sullivan & Cromwell, Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, and Landis Rath & Cobb.

AlixPartners, a forensics consulting company, billed its biggest charge in March for $4.51 million, totaling $10.2 million for the quarter, for the company’s efforts in examining tokens and decentralized financial products in FTX’s possession. FTX has had a very difficult six months, but it hasn’t yet placed the last nail in the coffin. The legal team for FTX is considering a possible resurrection of the trading platform as early as April 2024 after $7.3 billion in assets were retrieved.