D. Kansas cuts employment fee award 69.4%, including for block billing

What happened

The Employee Rights Law Firm, counsel for Stuart and Harden, requested $915,162.5 in Title VII fees. The court awarded $279,852.5, a reduction of $635,310. The court applied a 25% across-the-board reduction for duplicative staffing, block billing, reconstructed time records, and entries that did not separate attorney time from clerical work or travel time. It also reduced the hourly rate sought for lead trial counsel Mark Jess and cited limited success.

What the court said

And, the application is riddled with block billing.

Counsel repeated identical descriptions across timekeepers and allegedly acknowledged reconstructing time from calendars, which limits confidence in the accuracy of the submissions.

The entries likewise do not separate compensable attorney time from clerical work, travel time, or other nonlegal tasks.

The court also reduced the award for: duplicative staffing, travel time, hourly rate reduced, limited success.

Why it matters

The ruling shows that a fee applicant's time records are central to the award. Block billing, reconstructed entries, and mixed clerical or travel time can support an across-the-board percentage cut, and a claimed hourly rate may be reduced even for lead trial counsel.

How to keep this out of your fee petition

• Record one task per entry, each with its own time.
• Write the entry when the work happens, not at the end of the week.
• If a task really is one unit of work, say what it was and what it produced.

Cite this ruling

See hourly rates the D. Kansas approves.

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.