In its death, Lehman Brothers has proven to be  an amazing cash cow for one group: lawyers. The fees have been massive in the United States and the United Kingdom. The fees charged to the U.S. estate will top $1 billion this month, the Financial Times reports. In London, fees are estimated at $900 million and growing.

There are a lot of people nibbling on this gravy train. About 1,000 people are receiving fees from the U.S. estate, while about 300  people, mainly from PwC, are working on the project in London.

Fees have been an on-going issue in the Lehman case. A court-appointed committee led by former pay master Kenneth Feinberg forced a reduction in fees of $5.2 million for a host of reasons. Many of the firms are now working for discounted rates.

Experts tell the FT that if you look at these fees as a percentage of assets, the Lehman fees seem very reasonable. Fees in cases such as Enron were much higher on a percentage basis. Still, in absolute terms, it's lot of money.

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