E.D. Arkansas cuts social security fee award 23.6%, including for clerical work

What happened

The fee applicant sought $10,197.95 in fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The court awarded $7,794.09, a reduction of $2,403.86 or 23.6%. It cut 1.8 paralegal hours billed for clerical work, reduced attorney hours by 7.6 to 25 hours as excessive, and reduced paralegal hours by 0.6 and attorney hours by 1.3 on fees on fees, awarding three hours instead.

What the court said

As to the Commissioner's first set of reduction requests, the Court will reduce the total paralegal hours by 1.8.

The court also reduced the award for: excessive hours, fees on fees, fees on fees.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts separate clerical tasks from legal work when reviewing time records and will trim hours billed for clerical tasks, even where other reductions also apply. It also shows courts compare requested hours against typical ranges in the district.

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 E.D. Arkansas approves and attorney fee motions in Arkansas federal courts.

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