FTX’s attorneys are generating up to $2000 an hour as they unravel the bankrupt crypto exchange’s complex finances, according to a report from Bloomberg Law.
FTX was guided through bankruptcy procedures by the legal firm Sullivan & Cromwell after exploding in late 2022. According to court documents obtained by Bloomberg, the business is working on the matter with 150 attorneys, who are billing between $810 and $2,000 per hour.
Sullivan & Cromwell and other FTX consultants have reportedly been working “nonstop” to organize the cryptocurrency exchange’s finances since it filed for bankruptcy in November, according to John Ray III, the new CEO of FTX.
Ray cautioned that it might take months to find all of FTX’s assets because the defunct exchange kept almost no records and utilized Quickbooks, a simple accounting program, to run its multibillion-dollar operation.
Ray is managing the company’s reorganization while earning $1,300 per hour.
US lawmakers have criticized Sullivan & Cromwell for guiding FTX through bankruptcy proceedings since the legal firm was working with the cryptocurrency exchange even before it filed for Chapter 11.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, admitted in a blog post earlier this month that he occasionally worked from Sullivan & Cromwell’s offices. The cryptocurrency exchange also reportedly gave the legal firm $20.5 million at one point, according to a petition submitted by an FTX client.
The federal judge in charge of the lawsuit, John Dorsey, later dismissed senators’ accusations as “inappropriate,” adding that Sullivan & Cromwell’s affiliation with FTX would not affect his decision.