Karam paid more than $300,000 in legal aid

Joe Karam, David Bain's long-time supporter, has been paid more than $330,000 in legal aid since 2007, when Mr Bain's convictions for murdering his family were overturned.

Mr Karam received $265,413 for his time and $66,180 for travel, accommodation and living costs, The Press reported today.

A jury in the High Court at Christchurch found Mr Bain not guilty on Friday of the murders of his parents and three siblings.

The Legal Services Agency said yesterday Mr Karam was paid $75 an hour initially, which was increased to $95 an hour from January last year.

"Joe Karam was approved to assist the legal team with general research and investigation in relation to witnesses, documentation and exhibits, both prior to and during the retrial," the agency said.

Mr Karam has said he had worked 70 to 80-hour weeks on the case in the past two years.

Mr Bain's lawyers, Michael Reed, QC, of Auckland, Helen Cull, QC, and Paul Morten, both of Wellington, and Karam's son, Matthew, who has been paid since the retrial started on March 6, have received $903,059 in legal aid.

Mr Bain has received more than $2.7 million in legal aid since his original trial.

This was not a final figure - that would not be known until all invoices were received and assessed.

The Crown's costs for the trial, including pre-trial hearings and three Privy Council hearings, have almost been finalised, with a total figure so far of $1.17m.

- NZPA