Voyager Digital was scheduled to pay Kirkland & Ellis, its legal advisor, a sum of $1.1 million for services rendered during the bankruptcy proceedings in April. According to records, the law firm utilized a combined hourly rate of $1,313.18 for all the services provided during that month. The total fees amounted to over $1.4 million, with certain senior members of the firm charging an hourly rate exceeding $2,000.
Kirkland & Ellis has worked with several bankrupt crypto companies, including BlockFi and Celsius.
Voyager sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July following the severe impact of the crypto credit crisis, which also affected numerous lenders and brokers. Under the leadership of former E*Trade executive Steve Ehrlich, the publicly traded company in Canada disclosed liabilities ranging from $1 billion to $10 billion during its bankruptcy filing.
Voyager is not the only company facing substantial fees during its bankruptcy proceedings. As previously reported, FTX incurred over $120 million in financial and legal advisory fees from February 1 to April 30.
Legal battles surround Voyager
McDermott Will & Emery, a law firm, invoiced creditors of the bankrupt crypto brokerage Voyager Digital approximately $5.1 million for legal services rendered from March 1 to May 18.
In a court filing on Monday, the law firm submitted the bill to the “Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors,” bringing its overall compensation to $16.48 million for the period spanning from July 22, 2022, to May 18, 2023. Up to this point, creditors have paid the law firm a total of $8.97 million.
In July 2022, Voyager sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following its involvement in the credit crisis that affected the cryptocurrency industry the previous year.
According to a recent court filing, Kirkland & Ellis, a law firm, billed Voyager and associated debtors a combined amount of $27.97 million for the legal services provided between July 5, 2022, and May 19 of this year.
As per the filing, the debtors have thus far paid a total of $23.38 million in compensation to Kirkland & Ellis.
It is worth noting that Kirkland & Ellis has also represented several bankrupt cryptocurrency firms apart from Voyager, including BlockFi and Celsius.