D. Oregon cuts employment fee award 22.6%, including for clerical work

What happened

Shriners Hospitals for Children, represented by Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, requested $55,707 in sanctions fees. The court awarded $43,099.30, a reduction of $12,607.70 or 22.6%. It declined $4,487.50 for work related to its Discovery Order, found 7.6 hours excessive and reduced 5.6 hours for tasks deemed clerical, and applied a 10% haircut to the remaining hours.

What the court said

The Court finds 7.6 total hours excessive considering the work performed and inclusion of unspecified amounts of time performing tasks that courts have deemed clerical work.

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

Why it matters

The ruling shows that courts will reduce fee awards when time entries do not separate clerical tasks from legal work and when hours appear excessive for the work performed. It also shows courts may apply a percentage haircut after specific deductions.

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. Oregon approves and attorney fee motions in Oregon 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.