NCJ Number
99213
Date Published
1985
Length
93 pages
Annotation
This book considers the announcement of attorney-fee guidelines at the pretrial phase of case processing, the fee application process, steps in applying the 'lodestar' method for fee determination, and alternative approaches for the simultaneous negotiation of attorney fee issues and the merits of litigation.
Abstract
The first chapter describes ways in which the courts' authority has been efficiently used to simplify and objectify the fee request process at the pretrial phase. The next chapter explores alternative uses of nonjudicial personnel to handle routine aspects of the fee application process. Another chapter discusses when and how the fee petition must be submitted to the court. The chapter on the 'lodestar' method of determining attorney fees -- defined as the number of hours reasonably expended multiplied by the prevailing attorney community rate -discusses three steps: standards for determining reasonable hours, factors influencing community rates, and the circumstances in which an adjustment to the product of hours times rate would be appropriate. Other chapters focus on adjustments to the lodestar method, the awarding of court costs, settlement negotiations of fees and their merits, and procedural alternatives for settlements. A table of the cases discussed is provided, and the appendix contains a checklist for drafting attorney fee orders or local rules governing attorneys' fees.