E.D. California cuts immigration fee award over clerical work

What happened

The fee applicant sought attorney and paralegal fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act in an immigration case. The court did not state dollar totals. It awarded 39 hours and deducted three hours of paralegal time for work the court treated as clerical, specifically time associated with filing and the organization of exhibits. The figures include costs.

What the court said

Therefore, the Court will deduct three hours of paralegal time for time associated with filing and the organization of exhibits.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts separate clerical tasks from compensable legal work when reviewing time records, and that time entries for filing and exhibit organization may be deducted even when the overall hours claimed are otherwise accepted.

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. California approves and attorney fee motions in California federal courts.

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