Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Sidley Austin’s lawyers may collect a maximum of $925 an hour for bankruptcy work on Tribune Co., instead of the highest-known fee of $1,100 the firm originally requested.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Kevin Carey in Wilmington, Delaware, said in a hearing today that any bankruptcy lawyer who tries to charge $1,000 an hour will need to prove he or she is worth that much.

“To the extent that this applicant or any other hits that mark I will require evidence in support of that rate,” Carey said.

Lawyers at Sidley and rival Weil, Gotshal & Manges made headlines late last year when they sought permission to collect the highest-known fees for their bankruptcy work. Weil Gotshal partners led by Harvey Miller charge $650 to $950 an hour for work on Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which filed the biggest bankruptcy in history Sept. 15.

The decision by Carey to lower the maximum fee Sidley can charge is unusual, said Lynn LoPucki, who teaches bankruptcy law at the University of California at Los Angeles.

“I never saw any of these fee applications not get approved,” LoPucki said in an interview.

LoPucki maintains a database with samples of high bankruptcy fees. The $1,100 Sidley requested for its top lawyers on the case was higher than any fee in that database, LoPucki said.

Tribune Filing

Partners at Sidley, where President Barack Obama once worked and met his wife-to-be Michelle, asked for the right to charge $575 to $1,100 an hour, according to a Dec. 26 filing by Tribune seeking court approval of the rates.

The $925-an-hour fee that was approved is still higher than all but a handful of rates in bankruptcy, LoPucki said.

Tribune, a 161-year-old newspaper and broadcast company, filed for bankruptcy in December, blaming the economic crisis and its $13 billion debt. The company, taken private a year ago by billionaire Sam Zell, plans to shed debt, sell some assets and exit bankruptcy. Tribune owns the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune newspapers as well as the Chicago Cubs baseball team, which it is in the process of selling.

Carey also agreed to hold a hearing next month to decide whether the company can hire Lazard Freres & Co. as its investment banker after the U.S. Trustee’s Office accused the firm of intentionally hiding a potential conflict of interest.

Lazard Disclosure

Acting U.S. Trustee Roberta A. DeAngelis, who monitors bankruptcy cases on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice, claimed in court papers that Lazard failed to disclose its advisory work for Sun-Times Media Group, Inc., owner of the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper.

“Our previous work for Sun-Times Media was a matter of public record and known by the Tribune company,” Lazard said in an e-mailed statement. “The objection is without merit, and we will vigorously oppose it.”

The case is In re Tribune Co., 08-13141, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).

To contact the reporter on this story: Steven Church in Wilmington, Delaware, at schurch3@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 20, 2009 21:12 EST