By Enron's own reckoning, the legal and accounting costs of its bankruptcy will exceed $1 billion in 2006.
Typically, legal fees in a bankruptcy drop off dramatically after a company gains approval for a plan of reorganization -- a road map for its exit from bankruptcy -- which Enron expects to do early next year.
But the company's budget through 2006 estimates more than $300 million will be spent after Enron confirms its plan. That's more than any company has ever spent confirming a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan.
"It's shocking," said Lynn Lopucki, a law professor at the University of California at Los Angeles law school who studies bankruptcy professional fees.
The largest amount of professional fees on record is the Luxembourg-based case of Saudi Arabian Bank of Credit and Commerce International, with $200 million in fees, although WorldCom may meet or exceed this total.
Looks like the vultures are having their fill. Details here from the Houston Chronicle. (via Drudge)