Last week's trial over Hawaiian Telcom Inc.'s reorganization plan was an easy victory for the company.

But the real winners are the lawyers

Through September, Hawaiian Telcom has amassed about $22 million in bankruptcy related fees for attorneys, investment bankers and other consultants.

That doesn't include the costs for the 24 lawyers who attended last week's four-day trial and the dozen or so attorneys who took part in the proceedings behind the scenes in offices in downtown Honolulu or in New York or Los Angeles.

Paul Basta, the lead attorney for Hawaiian Telcom, billed at a rate of about $895 an hour while Brett Miller, the attorney for the unsecured creditors, charges about $825 an hour, court records show.

Costs for the trial won't be disclosed for the several months.

That trial ended Friday with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King granting confirmation for Hawaiian Telcom's $460 million, stand-alone reorganization plan. (See:)

The company's unsecured creditors -- namely its bondholders who were getting something like 2 cents on the dollar -- opposed the plan.

The $22 million paid out so far represents a huge chunk of the company's capital investments budget and a huge slice of its $50 million in cash that company is going to have when it exits bankruptcy.

During the first day of the trial, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King expressed concerns about the mounting costs, saying they "almost approaches an unconscionable level."

And those costs will go up if the unsecured creditors decide to appeal King's decision.

Tags: Attorney fees, bankruptcy, Hawaiian Telcom, Paul Basta

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