Opinion ID: 1345017
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Fifty Percent Reduction of Paralegal Fees

Text: This court has approved fee awards to paralegals, law clerks, and legal assistants as a way of encouraging cost-effective lawyering. Baldwin v. Burton, 850 P.2d 1188, 1200-01 (Utah 1993). A court must base attorney fee awards on the evidence and support them by findings of fact. Cottonwood Mall Co. v. Sine, 830 P.2d 266, 268 (Utah 1992). The Commission awarded paralegal fees at $25 an hour, stating as justification that neither employee had paralegal training. One paralegal. Funk, is a consumer advocate in utility matters. The other, McDermott, had finished his third year of law school but had not taken the bar exam when he performed the research in question. The affidavits submitted by both sides support paralegal fees of at least $45 an hour. One affidavit states that research assistants receive $60 an hour, while another identifies $35 to $50 as the going rate. The $25 figure comes from Funk's affidavit; he had done contract work for the Commission at $25 an hour. The record does not support the reduction in paralegal compensation to $25. The $25 rate paid to Funk by the Commission was for drafting legislation and the like, not for paralegal work. The rule discussed above requiring payment of the going rate for attorney fees applies with equal force to paralegal fees. Public agencies often pay a reduced rate, but the private rate sets the standard. Given the evidence in the record, the paralegals should have been compensated at $45 an hour at least. However, because we have chosen to use the contingency fee to approximate payment in this case, we do not award an additional amount for paralegal fees and costs generally, because the contingency fee scenario already encompasses these amounts.