There's an interesting new development in the Tribune Co. bankruptcy case: The creditors committee, before now represented solely by Chadbourne & Parke, filed papers late last week requesting permission to add Zuckerman Spaeder as special counsel.

The reason? The committee wants to investigate possible causes of action against law firms that helped arrange the $8.2 billion leveraged buyout in which Chicago billionaire Sam Zell took the company private in 2007. Some of those firms are members of the creditors committee, which means this latest development could lead to fellow credit committee members suing each other--creating the need for additional counsel.

The maneuver to take the Tribune private failed in part because the company took on too much debt in the transaction, which ended with an employee stock ownership plan as Tribune's majority owner, according to the Chicago Tribune. The company filed for bankruptcy a year later (with Sidley Austin as primary counsel).