Baker Botts, an international law firm of almost 700 attorneys, recently served as debtors’ counsel in the Asarco bankruptcy case. In connection with its role, the bankruptcy court showered Baker Botts with the following praise:
Throughout these bankruptcy cases, Baker Botts lawyers conducted themselves with the utmost professionalism and commitment, addressing an array of challenging legal issues with sophistication, creativity, and skill. Few firms in the country have the breadth and depth of experience in different disciplines necessary to handle these cases with the skill demonstrated by Baker Botts. Baker Botts performed at an exemplary level in a wide spectrum of legal specialties.
The results obtained in these cases are nothing short of extraordinary. This Court has said that the Asarco bankruptcy case “is probably the most successful Chapter 11 of any magnitude in the history of the Code.” Baker Botts contributed significantly to the success of these cases. Baker Botts performed in an extraordinary fashion in numerous areas, but perhaps most notably in trying and obtaining a multi-billion-dollar judgment against Asarco’s parent company, Americas Mining Corporation [ ]. Creditors ultimately received payment in full of all claims, plus post-petition interest and allowed attorneys’ fees. Such an extraordinary result would have seemed far fetched at the outset of these cases.1
To date, neither the bankruptcy court nor any appellate court has made findings that question Baker Botts’ efforts or performance during the case, and Baker Botts was awarded more than $113 million for its work as debtors’ counsel.
