W.D. Texas cuts employment fee award 80.4%, including for clerical work

What happened

The Chavez Law Firm sought $1,281,460 in fees under 42 U.S.C. Section 1988 for 1,247.4 hours in an employment case. The court awarded $251,649.54, a reduction of $1,029,810.46 or 80.4%, with 730.36 hours allowed. It cut total hours by 44% for limited success, excessive hours, duplicative staffing, and clerical work billed as legal work. It also accepted the magistrate judge's recommendation to deny fees for 323 hours of legal assistant work billed as legal work.

What the court said

the Court will reduce the Chavez Law Firm's hours by 44%—which, as explained above, is mathematically equivalent to the total effective reduction that Judge Montalvo imposed in Ares

the Court accepts Judge Berton's recommendation to deny Plaintiff's request for legal assistant fees.

The court also reduced the award for: limited success, excessive hours, duplicative staffing.

Why it matters

The ruling shows courts will reduce hours across the board for limited success and overstaffing, and will separately deny entries that bill clerical tasks at legal rates. Time records that do not distinguish clerical from legal work can cost a fee applicant both a percentage cut and the outright exclusion of those entries.

How to keep this out of your fee petition

• Leave purely clerical work off the fee petition.
• Describe paralegal tasks so the substantive work is clear.
• Split mixed entries into their substantive and clerical parts.

Cite this ruling

See hourly rates the W.D. Texas approves and attorney fee motions in Texas federal courts.

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