Crypto collapses generate hundreds of millions of dollars for lawyers

The legal industry has emerged as a major winner amid cryptocurrency collapses like FTX and Celsius, generating hundreds of millions of dollars for lawyers.

Lawyers, accountants, consultants, analysts and other professionals have

Some of the initial reports indicating that firms such as Sullivan & Cromwell would reap a fortune from their crypto bankruptcy work surfaced in January 2023. The firm reportedly had more than 150 people working on the FTX case at the time, including 30 partners with rates exceeding $2,000 per hour.

Amid concerns over high legal fees, the United States bankruptcy court appointed Katherine Stadler as fee examiner for the FTX case. In June, Stadler reported that the team working on FTX had requested more than $200 million in fees since the November bankruptcy, stating that the fees were reasonable.

Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried’s legal team is continuing to fight against the United States Department of Justice, asking the court on Sept. 1 to deny all recent requests by the authority. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, one of the DOJ’s requests included an appeal to ban all of SBF’s seven expert witnesses from testifying in court. Some of the witnesses could cost SBF up to $1,200 per hour to testify.

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