D. Maryland cuts social security fee award 44%, including for clerical work

What happened

The plaintiff in a social security case sought $8,804.92 in attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The court awarded $4,927.73, a reduction of $3,877.19 or 44.0%. The court reduced the request by 3.8 hours of paralegal time for clerical work billed as legal work, by 11.0 hours of attorney time for reviewing the record, and awarded 1.0 attorney hour for time billed on the reply.

What the court said

Therefore, Plaintiff's request will be reduced by 3.8 hours of paralegal time.

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

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 hours found excessive or not reasonably expended, even in a modest EAJA request.

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

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