N.D. Illinois cuts intellectual property fee award 0.1% over clerical work

What happened

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., counsel for the fee applicant, sought $1,894,327.15 in fees. The court awarded $1,892,979.15, a reduction of $1,348, or 0.1%. The court found that the time records included 7.8 hours of paralegal work that was clerical in nature, such as preparing courtesy copies, electronically filing and serving documents, and creating calendar notifications, and reduced the award by that amount.

What the court said

Steptoe's records include entries totaling 7.8 hours for paralegal work that is clerical in nature (preparing courtesy copies, electronically filing and serving documents, and creating calendar notifications).

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will separate clerical tasks from legal work even in a large fee request, and that time records identifying who did what can lead to small, itemized cuts rather than a broad reduction.

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

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.