§ 1-82 Assessment of an Award of Attorney's Fees.
RCNY § 1-82
Attorney's fees will generally be calculated under the lodestar method, multiplying the number of hours reasonably expended on the case by a reasonable hourly rate. In assessing the amount of time reasonably spent on a matter, the Commission may consider, among other things, the novelty and difficulty of the issues presented in the case and the degree of success ultimately achieved, including whether the litigation acted as a catalyst to effect policy change on the part of the respondent, regardless of whether that change has been implemented voluntarily. In assessing a reasonable hourly rate, the Commission may consider, among other things, the skill and experience of the attorney, and the hourly rate typically charged by attorneys of similar skill and experience litigating similar cases in New York county.
(a)Billing judgment. An applicant seeking attorney's fees should make a good faith effort to exclude from its fee request time for work that is excessive, redundant, or otherwise unnecessary. Regardless of who performs the work, tasks which are clerical or secretarial in nature should be billed at an administrative rate and tasks which could be performed by a paralegal should be billed as such.
(b)Time records. Time records should be set forth with sufficient particularity to enable an assessment of the accuracy of the records and whether the amount of time expended was reasonable. The Commission may reduce a fee award where time records do not adequately describe the nature of the work performed. (Added City Record 8/6/2019, eff. 9/5/2019)
