New York-based law firm McDermott Will & Emery has submitted a compensation claim of $5.1 million to the creditors of Voyager Digital, a bankrupt crypto brokerage firm.
The bill covers legal services provided by the law firm from March 1 to May 13, 2023.
The law firm, in a court filing on July 3, directed the billing of its legal fees to the “Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors.”
According to the court documents, McDermott Will & Emery charged an hourly rate of $1,026.76 for the services rendered during the specified period.
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The bill presented by the law firm encompasses various legal services it offered to Voyager, including providing advice to the committee on its powers and responsibilities under the bankruptcy regulations, attending meetings, and negotiating with debtors’ representatives and other interested parties.
Additionally, the firm was responsible for preparing all the necessary legal documents on behalf of the committee.
This recent bill marks the third and final one from McDermott Will & Emery, with the total compensation amounting to $16.48 million between July 5, 2022, and May 19, 2023. Of this total, $8.97 million has already been paid by the creditors.
It is worth noting that McDermott Will & Emery is not the sole legal service provider for Voyager. On June 28, another legal advisor, Kirkland & Ellis, billed Voyager $1.1 million for legal fees incurred in April.
Despite the request for comments from Cointelegraph, McDermott Will & Emery has not yet provided a response.
Voyager Digital filed for bankruptcy in July 2022 amidst a crisis in the crypto lending sector, which resulted in market turmoil and the downfall of several well-established crypto firms such as Celsius and BlockFi.
At the time of filing for bankruptcy, Voyager disclosed liabilities ranging from $1 billion to $10 billion.
The bankruptcy proceedings have imposed substantial legal fees on various crypto firms, including Voyager.
For instance, FTX, another prominent player in the industry, was billed over $120 million in financial and legal advisory fees between February 1 and April 30, 2023.
This indicates the financial burden faced by crypto companies in navigating the complexities of bankruptcy cases and seeking professional legal guidance to handle their affairs.
