A recent Reuters Legal story, “Madoff Trustee Seeks an Additional $45 Million in Fees” reports that the trustee for victims of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme asked a federal bankruptcy court judge to approve nearly $45 million in attorney fees and expenses, his first compensation request since regulators voiced concerns over his fees in March.  Irving Picard and his legal team at Baker & Hostetler LLP filed a motion seeking roughly $44 million in fees and $1 million in expenses for work done between Oct. 1 and Jan. 31.  Picard told the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan that the firm’s work during the period – which included striking a $5 billion settlement with the estate of former investor Jeffry Picower – justified the request.

According to the fee motion, Picard worked 954.8 hours during the four month period, at an average rate of $747.59 per hour.  Other Baker & Hostetler lawyers worked 116,398 hours at an average rate of $370.94 per hour.  If approved, the firm’s total compensation would jump to nearly $150 million since Picard’s appointment in December 2008.

The payments caught the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission in March, when Inspector General David Kotz said the fees risk depleting the Securities Investor Protection Corp’s fund that is paying some of the costs of former Madoff customers.  Those concerns have been downplayed by SIPC President Stephen Harbeck, who said the fund will remain stable thanks to new fees being imposed on the brokerages that pay into it.  The fund still has $1.3 billion in reserve despite costly liquidation proceedings for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Madoff, Harbeck said.