D. New Mexico cuts social security fee award 10.6% over clerical work

What happened

The Parmele Law Firm, counsel for the fee applicant, requested $4,957.40 under the Equal Access to Justice Act for 18.7 hours. Judge Damian L. Martinez awarded $4,434.20, a reduction of $523.20 or 10.6%. The court reduced the claimed time by 2.0 hours, finding that the attorneys could not be compensated for preparing form documents or client letters. The figures do not include costs.

What the court said

The Court will exercise its discretion to reduce the claimed time by 2.0 hours, as Asebedo's attorneys cannot be compensated for preparing form documents or client letters.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will separate clerical tasks from legal work when reviewing time records on a fee petition, and will reduce the award for hours spent on form documents and client letters even when the overall request is modest.

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 D. New Mexico approves and attorney fee motions in New Mexico federal courts.

Figures and quotes are taken from the opinion and checked against its text. Spot an error? Email team@legaltime.ai with the case name and we will correct it. Summaries of public court opinions. Not legal advice.