On Feb. 20, 2009, Chief Judge Kevin J. Carey of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Delaware made clear that it was he who denied Sidley Austin the $1,100-per-hour billing rate. Judge Carey flatly stated in a hearing that “[t]o the extent that this applicant or any other hits [the $1,000] mark, I will require evidence in support of that rate.”[2] Somehow Judge Carey was able to wrestle the Sidley attorneys off of their $1,100 billing rate to a mere $925 per hour. What gave Judge Carey the authority to modify Sidley’s compensation arrangement? This article will examine that question, including a review of both the statutory provisions (and judicial interpretations of those provisions) and policy considerations surrounding the issue of fee adjustments by the courts.
'Courts of bankruptcy are essentially courts of equity, and their proceedings inherently are proceedings in equity.'
