General Growth legal team trimmed

Although the reorganization of shopping-mall owner General Growth Properties Inc. is the largest real-estate bankruptcy in U.S. history, the company doesn't need two large law firms, the U.S. Trustee said in an objection last week to the retention of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

Either firm by itself is capable of representing General Growth and having both will result in inevitable duplication of effort, the Justice Department's bankruptcy watchdog said.

General Growth filed under Chapter 11 in April. The balance sheet of Chicago-based General Growth had assets of $29.6 billion and total liabilities of $27.3 billion as of Dec. 31. It owns about 200 shopping-mall properties.

The case is In re General Growth Properties Inc., 09-11977, Bankruptcy Court, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).