Kodak Ka-Ching

Monday marked the three-month anniversary of Eastman Kodak Co.’s Chapter 11 filing, so it’s about time for the imaging company’s attorneys and advisers to be calling for their first paychecks. Bankruptcy Beat has the fee requests—let’s take a look, shall we?

Court papers filed Tuesday show that Kodak’s main law firm, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, is seeking nearly $4.4 million in fees and expenses racked up between its hiring date of Jan. 19, when Kodak filed its bankruptcy petition, and Feb. 29. That amount covers 80% of the $5.3 million in total attorney fees and 100% of the nearly $98,000 in expenses.

The 32 Sullivan partners and counsel working on the case, each of whom bill between $990 and $1,150 per hour, cost Kodak $1.95 million alone. (For some perspective, Kodak reported about $5 billion in assets in its bankruptcy petition.)

In all, the Sullivan army—including associates, paralegals and nonlegal professionals—devoted more than 7,800 hours to Kodak from the date of its bankruptcy filing to the end of February. Some of the most time-consuming tasks were related to litigation (about 1,559 hours), asset disposition (1,103 hours), financing matters (980 hours) and employee benefits and pensions (nearly 843 hours).

As for the nearly $98,000 in expenses, $21,000 is for document preparation and $25,000 is for document reproduction. The Manhattan law firm also spent $8,200 on visits to Kodak’s Rochester headquarters in Western New York. It spent nearly $13,000 on local transportation.

Kodak’s other law firms are also requesting payment of 80% of their fees at this time. That includes Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, which is helping lighten Sullivan’s workload and doing so at a cheaper rate, with a request for $536,000 in fees and $22,400 in expenses. Linklaters LLP, which is handling the international issues that have arisen in the bankruptcy case, applied for payment of $323,300, while special counsel Groom Law Group wants $25,300.

Also putting in a payment request is Lazard Frères & Co., Kodak’s investment banker. Lazard charged $8.85 million in fees, much of which is related to an $8.5 million financing fee tied to the $950 million bankruptcy loan the firm helped Kodak secure. However, Lazard’s request is also for 80% of the total fees, meaning it’s seeking payment of nearly $7.1 million.

Creditors have until April 4 to object to any of the free applications. When a professional firm is on a debtor’s tab, its fees are subject to court approval.

Critics say bankruptcy can be a fee bonanza, citing debtor-friendly courts that sign off on millions of dollars in professional compensation while creditors go unpaid. Others argue top talent (and the top rates they command) is non-negotiable when a company’s survival is on the line.