Bankrupt Law Firm Wins Bid to Hire Counsel With Contingency Fees

Houston-based MMA Law Firm PLLC won approval of a hybrid fee arrangement with a 40% contingency feature to hire Walker & Patterson PC as its counsel in bankruptcy.

Walker & Patterson may be paid a $60,000 flat fee and 40% of any value it can recover for MMA’s Chapter 11 estate, Judge Eduardo V. Rodriguez of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled Thursday. The 20-page decision marks a victory for MMA over objections raised by groups of creditors and the Justice Department’s bankruptcy monitoring program, the US Trustee, over the fee structure.

Opponents of the ...