The Johnson & Johnson talc powder bankruptcy filing in Houston is less than a month old, but new documents filed Sunday in the case show that it is going to be highly profitable for the lawyers and law firms involved.
Over the past three days, lawyers for Jones Day, Porter Hedges, King & Spalding, Skadden Arps, Shook Hardy & Bacon and McCarter & English have filed their official applications to represent Red River Talc, the J&J subsidiary created to off-load an estimated $10 billion or more in liabilities resulting from lawsuits from women who claim they have gotten cancer because of J&J’s talc powder products.
Johnson & Johnson, the parent company, hired White & Case as its lead legal advisors for the Chapter 11 proceedings.
The lead law firm, Jones Day, lists its partners on the case have hourly rates from $1,275 to $2,000, according to court documents filed Sunday. Its associates bill from $625 to $1,175 an hour. And the firm’s paralegals charge $275 to $525 an hour.
Greg Gordon, a Dallas partner in Jones Day’s restructuring practice and reported creator of the Texas Two-Step procedure that places bad assets from a company into a separate entity and then file bankruptcy for that entity, reported his hourly billing rate at $2,000 an hour. His Dallas partners Troy Lewis and Dan Prieto charge $1,450 an hour. In all, Jones Day lists 22 lawyers working on the Red River Talc bankruptcy — 12 are charging $1,000 an hour or more. Seven of the lawyers and one paralegal are based in the firm’s Dallas office.
In its filing on Sunday, Jones Day states that it has been paid $35.5 million for its representation of Red River Talc between Sept. 19, 2023 and Aug. 31, 2024.
Porter Hedges, led by Houston bankruptcy partner John Higgins, is local counsel for Red River Talc and reports the company paid it $175,000 for fees and expenses prior to the filing of the Chapter 11 in the Southern District of Texas.
In court documents also filed Sunday, Porter Hedges states that its partners are billing Red River Talc between $520 and $1,100 an hour. The hourly rates for its associates range from $420 to $805. Paralegals charge $310 to $470.
Red River Talc has hired King & Spalding as special counsel in the bankruptcy. King & Spalding serves as national trial and coordinating counsel for J&J in the talc powder litigation.
In court documents filed Sunday, King & Spalding revealed that its partners in the case have hourly rates ranging from $1,050 to $2,180. Its associates charge $540 to $1,395 an hour. And the paralegals have hourly rates between $275 and $675. King & Spalding reports that it has not been paid anything for work on the bankruptcy by the debtor prior to the bankruptcy filing. King & Spalding lists nine lawyers working on the matter but none are from Texas.
Lawyers representing Skadden Arps are representing Red River Talc as special litigation counsel in the bankruptcy.
In court documents filed Friday, Skadden states that its partners working on the bankruptcy charge $1,355 to $1,830 per hour. Its associates billing rates range from $509 to $1,069 per hour. Skadden lists seven lawyers working on the bankruptcy, but none from its Houston office.
Skadden was paid $10.75 million for its work on the bankruptcy prior to the Sept. 20 filing by Red River Talc.
J&J selected McCarter & English as its special legal advisors regarding insurance matters. A New Jersey-based firm, McCarter & English bills its partners from $545 to $1,600 an hour, according to court documents filed Friday. The firm states that it has not been compensated for any work it has done on the bankruptcy matter.
Finally, Shook Hardy has been hired as special counsel to the debtors. The Kansas City-founded firm known for its decades of litigation for cigarette makers, reported in court filings Sunday that its partners’ hourly rates range from $495 to $875. Shook Hardy reports that it has incurred fees and expenses of $1.27 million nut has not yet been paid by the debtor.
Shook Hardy list four lawyers working on the bankruptcy for the debtor — two are based in its Houston office.
The case is In re Red River Talc LLC, Case #24-90505.