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Billing Judgment, Nancy B. Rapoport, Joseph R. Tiano Jr.

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In most situations, when a lawyer sends a bill to a client, the client pays the fees. When the client believes that a fee or expense is unreasonable, the client will ask for reductions. Conscientious lawyers review a bill before sending it to the client, exercising judgment in terms of what fees and expenses are reasonable. But in bankruptcy cases, the estate pays the court-appointed professionals' fees and expenses out of unsecured funds or from a cash collateral carve-out. Thus, the responsibility for scrutinizing the fees and expenses falls not to a particular client, but to the court, per 11 …