The unsecured creditors committee in Tribune Co.’s bankruptcy case asked a Delaware judge Monday for the right to sue Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell and other investors and lenders who participated in the company’s ill-fated 2007 leveraged buyout.

The motion was largely procedural, and the document said the request is not aimed at disrupting a court-ordered mediation in the case, which is scheduled for this month.

Lawyers for the committee had signaled at a previous court hearing that they would probably file a new complaint and ask for permission to pursue it because U.S. bankruptcy law would require bringing litigation surrounding the buyout within two years of the company’s filing for Chapter 11 protection.

Tribune Co. made its initial filing Dec. 8, 2008, so the committee would have to win approval to bring its complaint by December this year.

Whether the committee actually launches its buyout-related litigation will probably depend on the outcome of the court-ordered mediation effort, which has yet to begin.

Tribune Co. and a welter of warring creditor groups, including the committee, have been working since Sept. 1 to prepare position papers for the mediator, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross. Gross will then try to broker a compromise settlement of the buyout charges at sessions scheduled for Sept. 26 and 27.

Sources on all sides of the case acknowledged that forging a workable compromise will pose a stiff challenge for Gross. But in its papers Monday, the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors said it “wholeheartedly supports the mediation process and the efforts of Judge Gross and the parties to achieve a consensual plan.”

According to the motion, the committee’s complaint would focus on allegations that the second part of Zell’s two-step $8.2-billion buyout left the company insolvent, benefiting bank lenders, selling shareholders and others at the expense of junior creditors and the bankruptcy estate. The motion notes that the complaint would depend on the committee’s own investigation and that of Kenneth Klee, an independent, court-appointed examiner who filed his own assessment of the potential charges in late July.

The suit names as defendants the senior debt holders, Zell’s company, Tribune Co. officers and directors, selling shareholders, a valuation company that blessed the deal and others.

Under bankruptcy law, the debtor holds the right to bring such charges because the “fraudulent conveyance” ultimately damaged the bankruptcy estate. But because Tribune Co. officers and directors are potential targets of the litigation, the committee argued that it should be allowed to stand in for the debtor to avoid conflicts of interest that might weaken the case.

A spokesman for Tribune Co. — which owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, KTLA Channel 5 and other media properties — declined to comment.

Increased business confidence and continued legal hiring are expected in the fourth quarter of 2010. Twenty-nine percent of lawyers interviewed for The Robert Half Legal Hiring Index plan to add legal jobs, while 6 percent anticipate declines, resulting in a net 23 percent increase in projected hiring activity. In addition, the majority (88 percent) of survey respondents said they were at least somewhat confident in their organizations’ ability to expand during the next quarter.The survey was developed by Robert Half Legal, a premier legal staffing firm specializing in lawyers, paralegals and other highly skilled legal professionals. It was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on telephone interviews with 100 lawyers at law firms with 20 or more employees, and 100 corporate lawyers at companies with 1,000 or more employees. All of the respondents have hiring authority within their organizations.Lawyers were asked, “Does your law firm or company plan to increase or decrease the number of full-time legal personnel on your staff during the fourth quarter of 2010?” Their responses:
Increase29%
Decrease6%
No change59%
Don’t know6%

100%

“As the economy regains its footing, legal organizations continue to make strategic hires to support active practice groups,” said Charles Volkert, executive director of Robert Half Legal. “Law firms, in particular, are expanding their legal teams to improve service offerings and meet client demands.”Volkert suggested that lawyers may be anticipating new business opportunities tied to the economy and government regulation. Bankruptcy/foreclosure, fueled by recession-related filings and corporate restructuring, is the area of law expected to experience the most growth in the next three months, garnering 24 percent of the total response. Litigation ranked second (18 percent) and healthcare was a close third (17 percent) among lawyers interviewed for the report.Nearly half (45 percent) of lawyers said it is challenging to find skilled legal professionals. “Despite high unemployment rates, the market remains competitive for candidates with experience in growing practice areas,” said Volkert. Survey participants identified lawyers (95 percent) as the type of full-time legal position they intend to add followed by legal secretaries/assistants (36 percent) and paralegals (26 percent). “Demand for associates who can generate revenue and support staff who can perform multiple job functions should remain strong in the coming months,” Volkert said.