Let's Talk Tom Lauria!

The WSJ gives the love to Miami White & Case bankruptcy attorney Tom Lauria, who fought in vain to derail the Chrysler-Fiat sale:

Judge D. Michael Lynn of the Northern District of Texas, who presided over the Mirant case, says Mr. Lauria "is, if anything, overly tenacious." He sometimes focuses "on the justice of his client's position to the exclusion of the merit of the opposition's arguments," the judge adds.

It is a widely shared view among lawyers who have worked with Mr. Lauria or battled against him. "I don't know many lawyers in the bankruptcy practice who take the idea of zealous representation of their client as seriously as he does," says Richard Chesley, a Chicago bankruptcy lawyer who has worked with Mr. Lauria on a couple of cases.

According to the article, Tom received $900 an hour for his work in the Mirant bankruptcy.

And, according to the DBR, the Indiana pension funds have paid White & Case over $2 million for Tom's efforts, which proved unsuccessful as the Supreme Court ultimately cleared the sale.

Now we know White & Case is struggling, and was profiled in the NYT on Sunday as a poster case for the woes of BigLaw. Indeed, they recently fired over 200 lawyers, nearly 1 in 10, including partners.

So, bankruptcy lawyers, was the $2+ million well-spent?