I just read an article about Slilling getting more than 24 years for his part in Enron. What shocked me is Petrocelli his attorney says Slilling owes him 30 million more than the 23 he already paid. How can this be. 53 million for a case. Something sucks here.
pravnik
October 23, 2006, 10:47pm
2
More like $70 million when all is said and done. To be fair, it’s owed to the whole firm, not just Petrocelli. It’s still pretty amazing, though.
Legal Exuberance
Skilling’s defense is shaping up to be one of the costliest in history. Before his indictment Skilling had put $23 million into a trust to pay his legal bills. His lawyers also received $17 million from the insurance companies that provided Enron with directors’ and officers’ liability coverage.
Petrocelli says his Los Angeles-based firm, O’Melveny & Myers, is owed $30 million more, bringing the grand total to $70 million, an amount that leaves other attorneys astonished. “It’s magnificent, it’s shocking, I’m jealous,” says attorney Philip Hilder, who represents Enron whistle-blower Sherron Watkins.
The attorney justifies the expenses saying it took a team of 12 lawyers, 5 paralegals, and a number of temporary staffers to try Skilling’s criminal case. Many of them had to be housed in Houston for months. Petrocelli bills his own services at nearly $800 an hour. Some expert witnesses and consultants got fees as high as $600 an hour.
The Sky-High Cost of Skilling’s Defense
pravnik:
More like $70 million when all is said and done. To be fair, it’s owed to the whole firm, not just Petrocelli. It’s still pretty amazing, though.
Makes you wonder what the sentence would have been without his having $70 million in defense lawyering. Probably death by torture or something. :dubious:
astro
October 24, 2006, 1:54pm
4
It does make you wonder about value and advice received for money paid. He would have gotten a much better deal by rolling over for the feds.
lieu
October 24, 2006, 2:04pm
5
Or by multiple attempts in the electric chair, repeatedly foiled by rolling brown-outs.
It is a shame more of that 70 million didn’t go to recompensate some of the claimants.
This has to be “Exhibit A” of throwing money down a rat hole.
It also looks like all of the Enron accountants went to work for O’Melveny & Myers.