Judge OKs lawyer, adviser fees in Delphi Corp. bankruptcy case

NEW YORK (AP) -- A federal bankruptcy judge approved 145 million in fees Thursday to lawyers and financial advisers for the first year of the restructuring of auto-parts supplier Delphi.
Troy-Mich.-based Delphi Corp., a former subsidiary of General Motors Corp. until 1999, has incurred nearly 135 million in professional fees and 10 million in expenses for the period from its voluntary bankruptcy protection filing Oct. 8, 2005, through the end of September 2006.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain of the Southern District of New York approved the payment applications filed by about 30 law firms, bankers and others.
As part of its bankruptcy case, Delphi has cut labor costs by offering voluntary buyout and early retirement deals to tens of thousands of union workers represented by the United Auto Workers and the International Union of Electrical Workers, the company's biggest and second-biggest unions.
Delphi has made reducing labor and retirement benefit costs one of the highest priorities in its reorganization.
Among Delphi's advisers, the biggest bill comes from the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & amp; Flom LLP, which recorded fees and expenses of 32.79 million for the year.
Skadden's hourly rates range from 585 to 835 for partners, 560 to 640 for counsel and special counsel, 295 to 540 for associates and 90 to 230 for legal assistants.