Kirkland & Ellis has received a stinging rebuke for misrepresentations, wasting court time and overcharging by a US bankruptcy judge, who has ordered the leading US firm’s multi-million dollar fee for the case be slashed.

The $25m (£13.5m) bill was submitted by the Chicago giant together with joint-counsel Pachulski Stang Ziehl Young Jones & Weintraub for three months of work representing debtors Fleming Companies.