Further Disagreement on the EDVA Bench over Attorney Rates

Multiple recent decisions from the Eastern District show a widening disagreement among the judges regarding “reasonable” hourly rates for attorneys.  This disagreement is manifesting itself most notably among the judges of the Alexandria Division as they rule on attorney’s fees petitions that involve lawyers from firms based in both Virginia and downtown DC.  Rates acceptable to at least one judge have been rejected by other judges within same division.  The bottom-line for practitioners is that it is not sufficient to be familiar with the general precedent in the Eastern District when applying for attorney’s fees.  Rather, practitioners must know their individual judge’s history and preferences, while carefully crafting the petition for attorney’s fees.

$400,000 Attorney’s Fee Cut by 67%

In Salim v. Dahlberg, 1:15-cv-468 LMB / IDD, 2016 WL 2930943 (E.D. Va. May 18, 2016), Judge Leonie M. Brinkema wrote a 49-page (!) opinion on just the question of recoverable attorney’s fees.  There, she rejected both the Laffey Matrix and the Vienna Metro matrix to determine reasonable hourly attorney rates in Northern Virginia.  In the 49-page opinion, Judge Brinkema goes into great detail to analyze the hourly rates requested by the plaintiff, the billing records submitted by the plaintiff’s counsel, the six supporting affidavits submitted by plaintiff (including many leading local practitioners in Alexandria), and the defendant’s opposition (which included only a single opposing affidavit).  In the end, Judge Brinkema largely sided with the defendant and cut plaintiff’s fees down from $400,000 to a just over $151,000.

In the underlying case, the plaintiff alleged various federal and state civil rights claims against the defendant.  After a favorable jury verdict, the plaintiff petitioned for attorney’s fees under Virginia Code Ann. § 8.01-42.1.  Plaintiff was represented by the firm of Victor M. Glasberg & Associates, and sought hourly rates for the work of two attorneys:  $550/hour for lead counsel with 39 years of experience, and $250/hour for an associate attorney with less than one year of experience.

Plaintiff’s counsel must have expected a fight to recover fees because they submitted six affidavits of leading local lawyers.  While Judge Brinkema noted that these six local lawyers were “well-known and well-respected by the Court,” none of the affidavits swayed the judge.  Instead, it was the defendant’s opposition and single affidavit submitted by Attorney Wayne G. Travell that carried the day.  Judge Brinkema objected that the plaintiff’s six affidavits were “conclusory” in nature and omitted detailed discussion of the plaintiff’s billing rates and records.

Vienna Metro and Laffey Matrices Rejected

Judge Brinkema rejected the Vienna Metro matrix, characterizing it as applying only to “complex civil litigation.”  Instead, her opinion relied primarily upon Judge T.S. Elliss’s opinion in Route Triple Seven (discussed in a prior EDVA Update here) which characterized a rate of $420 as the “upper limit for what counts as a reasonable rate for a very competent attorney in an uncomplicated . . . dispute.”  Further, Judge Brinkema also rejected the Laffey Matrix of DC-based attorney hourly rates published by the U.S. Department of Justice.  According to Judge Brinkema, DC-based hourly rates are not properly comparable for litigation in the Alexandria federal court.

While the defendant’s expert did not challenge the $550/hour rate sought by plaintiff’s lead counsel, Judge Brinkema cut it down anyway to $500/hour, and then reduced the recoverable hours by half.  Turning to fees requested for plaintiff’s junior counsel, Judge Brinkema cut the hourly rate down from $250 to $125 on the grounds that the newly-minted attorney had not yet been admitted to the Virginia Bar (having just recently graduated from law school).  Because of this, Judge Brinkema characterized the young attorney’s contribution as more akin to a law clerk, and she applied the lower hourly rated recommended by the defendant’s expert.

Conclusion

Judge Brinkema appears to be speaking to the bar in this 49-page opinion, which provides a roadmap for future petitions for attorney’s fees.  As the disagreement over hourly rates among the judges of the Eastern District grows, it is critical for practitioners to understand where each judge comes down on this issue.  This opinion is required reading for any practitioner who expects to submit an attorney’s fee petition to Judge Brinkema in the future.