Caraustar Industries, Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia on May 31, already has racked up substantial legal fees.
The Austell, Ga.-based recycled paperboard and packaging company has hired King & Spalding as debtors counsel. The firm’s disclosure of compensation, filed by partner James A. Pardo Jr., discloses that between Jan. 1 and May 31, Caraustar paid King & Spalding more than $1 million for services rendered, about $40,500 for expenses and a $250,000 general retainer.
As for the price of legal work going forward, Pardo’s declaration says that the current standard hourly rate for attorneys in the firm’s Atlanta office ranges from $255 to $900 per hour; paralegals and legal professionals are billed out at $115 to $275 per hour.
The rates for lawyers and paraprofessionals expected to be most active in the case include Pardo, at $815 per hour; partner Mark M. Maloney at $640; associates Michelle L. Carter and Jessica S. Jackson at $440 and $310, respectively, and senior paralegal Missy Heinz, at $245.