Shutdown Cuts Off Fees for Bankers, Advisers (1)

Investment bankers, lawyers and restructuring advisers in one of the busiest bankruptcy venues may not get paid for work they do on cases in front of the court’s chief judge as long as the U.S. government shutdown crawls on.

Judge Christopher Sontchi in Delaware said he won’t approve adviser fees or retention applications during the shutdown unless the federal watchdog charged with reviewing them has a chance to weigh in.

The problem is that the Office of the U.S. Trustee, which monitors the payouts, is closed during the shutdown. Some of the Trustee’s lawyers are still working on high-profile cases, ...