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	Lawyers Agree to Cut Fees in Spokane Diocese Bankruptcy Case Bellingham Herald September 20, 2007 http://www.bellinghamherald.com/northwest/story/186309.html Spokane, Wash. — Lawyers involved in the bankruptcy of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane have agreed to cut their legal bills by about 5 percent, producing an extra $400,000 for victims of sexual abuse by priests. If approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Patricia Williams, the agreement would end a dispute among several law firms and the U.S. Trustee's Office over how much the lawyers should be paid. The legal fees fight is one of the last remaining issues in the bankruptcy filed in December 2004. Spokane Bishop William Skylstad brought the diocese into bankruptcy protection to shield its assets and parishes from dozens of claims alleging sex abuse by priests decades ago. Spokane was the third diocese in the nation to file for bankruptcy protection. Recently, a plan to keep the diocese intact and end the bankruptcy came together after a group of priests and laity calling itself the Association of Parishes agreed to contribute about $10 million to the final $48 million settlement. Money continues to be raised from parishioners to meet that pledge. Lawyers on the case contended they worked at hourly rates below what they normally charge, although the rates still ranged from $200 to more than $300 an hour. In all, professionals billed the diocese more than $10 million for services ranging from legal advice to accounting work and appraisals. In bankruptcy court, the company, or in this case the diocese, pays its own legal bills and the legal bills of those with sex abuse claims. The new agreement will allow attorneys with five firms to present a deal to the judge and avoid detailed and public arguments over fees. A meeting with a federal mediator planned for Thursday in Reno, Nev., was canceled. The firms include Paine Hamblen Coffin Brooke & Miller and Gordon Murray Tilden, which worked on behalf of the diocese; and Pachulski Stang, Esposito George & Campbell, and Riddell Williams, which worked on behalf of creditors' committees. In all, the five firms agreed to seek about $8.3 million in fees after the agreed-upon reduction. Another law firm, Foster Pepper, which represents individual victims, along with the U.S. Trustees Office, also signed the agreement. The court-appointed trustee, Seattle attorney Gloria Nagler, will receive about $37 million by an Oct. 1 fund deadline. Another $10 million is due by years end, said diocese attorney Shaun Cross.
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