Steward Health Bid to Hire Latham in Bankruptcy Opposed by DOJ

The Justice Department’s bankruptcy arm opposed Steward Health Care System LLC’s application to retain Latham & Watkins LLP, saying the bankrupt private health network “cannot afford the fees of another large multinational law firm.”

The US Trustee objected on Thursday to Steward’s request, filed in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, to hire Latham as co-counsel in its Chapter 11 case. The trustee noted the court had already approved the company’s retention of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, which has served as Steward’s bankruptcy counsel since last spring and billed nearly $70 million in legal ...