Adjusted Laffey Matrix Methodology and U.S. District Judge Walker’s Approach.
In our December 28, 2010 post, we discussed the Laffey Matrix, which has gained acceptance by some judges in determining reasonable hourly rates for attorneys when it comes to presentation of proof in fees petitions. We now give you an introduction to alternative methodologies in the form of the the Adjusted Laffey Matrix and U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker’s own adjustment approach using the Laffey Matrix.
Adjusted Laffey Matrix. Sometimes known as the Updated or Alternative Laffey Matrix, this one is an adjusted methodology prominently advocated by economist Dr. Michael Kavanaugh from Batavia, Ohio. This Adjusted Matrix has two significant differences from the ordinary Laffey Matrix: (1) it is geared to the national Consumer Price Index specific to legal services; and (2) it uses 1988-1989 (rather than 1981-1982) rates for the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area developed in response to the remand in Save Our Cumberland Mountains v. Hodel, 857 F.2d 1516 (D.C. Cir. 1988) (en banc). Several courts have argued that the Adjusted Matrix yields better results and is more accurate because (1) applying the CPI legal services component inflation rate effectively captures more relevant data (being more reliable than general CPI increases relating to non-legal services or goods), and/or (2) the use of 1988-1989 base hourly rates is better than utilizing older base rates. (See, e.g., Salazar v. District of Columbia, 123 F. Supp.2d 8, 14-15 (D.D.C. 2000) [District Judge Kessler] (agreeing with point 1 above); Interfaith Community Organization v. Honeywell International, Inc., 426 F.3d 694 (3d Cir. 2005) (finding Salazar persuasive).)
Courts Declining to Use Adjusted Laffey Matrix. Particularly for the D.C. area, other courts have rejected use of the Adjusted Laffey Matrix, although there certainly is a split among the D.C. district judges because others do rely on it over the original Laffey Matrix preferred by other judges. (See, e.g., Woodland v. Viacom, Inc., 255 F.R.D. 278, 280 n. 1 (D.D.C. 2008) [District Magistrate Judge Facciola] (listing D.D.C. cases where variant approaches are taken with respect to use of the Adjusted Matrix]; see also Miller v. Holzmann, 575 F.Supp. 2, 17-18 (D.D.C. 2008) [District Judge Lamberth] (arguing that Dr. Kavanaugh’s use of a national CPI index is not geographically specific enough when it comes to calculating D.C. hourly rates).) Many of the courts disagreeing with use of the Adjusted Laffey Matrix seem to congregate in the D.C. area and have a problem with its use for purposes of calculating D.C. hourly rates.
District Judge Walker’s Approach. U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker of the Northern District of California uses the original Laffey Matrix but then adjusts its D.C.-based rates for the specific locality of the lawyers seeking fees through use of local-oriented CPI indices. Most of his uses of this approach have occurred in securities class action contests. (See, e.g., In re HPL Technologies, Inc. Sec. Litig., 366 F. Supp.2d 912 (N.D. Cal. 2005); In re Chiron Corp. Sec. Litig., 2007 WL 4249902 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 30, 2007); In re Portal Software, Inc. Sec. Litig., 2007 WL 4171201 (N.D. Cal. 2007) [class actions]; accord, Martin v. FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., 2008 WL 5478576 (N.D. Cal. 2008); Garnes v. Harnhardt, 2006 WL 249522 (N.D. Cal. 2006).) For an article that criticizes using the Laffey Matrix in the class action context versus the actual billing rates of attorneys in the relevant community, see W.B. Rubenstein, Reasonable Rates: Time To Reload The (Laffey) Matrix, CLASS ACTION ATTORNEY FEE DIGEST 47-51 (Feb. 2008).
So, there you have the pros and cons of the Laffey Matrix, Adjusted Laffey Matrix, and U.S. District Judge Walker’s modified Laffey Matrix approach, with courts and experts split on which approach is superior depending on the circumstances and requested hourly fees in a given case.
So make up your mind . . .
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