The Detroit Free Press reports that almost a year since it filed for bankruptcy protection, Kmart has laid out more than $51 million to lawyers, financial advisors, real estate experts and accountants that are advising it.
According to the paper, “Kmart's highest-paid lawyers and advisers earn as much as $700 an hour and charge for their time in six-minute increments,” even charging for a six-minute minimum every time they listen to a voice mail.
According to the paper, “Kmart's highest-paid lawyers and advisers earn as much as $700 an hour and charge for their time in six-minute increments,” even charging for a six-minute minimum every time they listen to a voice mail.
- KC's View:
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Some will say that this is a perfect example of excessive spending by Kmart, and of price gauging by greedy professionals. Others will say that the people doing all this work are expert professionals at the top of their fields, and that they deserve every penny they are making.
But while Kmart CEO James Adamson says that he is pressing the experts to be efficient with their time, we have to wonder why, $51 million later, Kmart hasn’t filed its reorganization plan yet.
We’d also point out that if Kmart wanted to know how to reorganize the company, it could have simply checked out the various opinions proffered right here on MNB.
And they’re free.
