LSAC ordered to pay $480K in attorney fees

A federal magistrate judge ordered the Law School Admission Council to pay the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing nearly $500,000 in attorney fees. The agency sought the fees in connection to a case over the council's handling of accommodations for Law School Admission Test takers with disabilities.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero of the Northern District ordered LSAC on Nov. 5 to pay $480,489, nearly all of the $567,295 the agency asked for in relation to a motion for contempt granted in March.

"As a public prosecutor, DFEH is entitled to recover attorney's fees for successful civil litigation," Fair Employment Director Kevin Kish said in a statement. "Because fees can only be used to offset costs of the Department, seeking fees in appropriate cases directly supports DFEH's mission of protecting Californians from unlawful discrimination."

Spero ruled in March LSAC repeatedly violated a 2014 consent decree that required it to improve accommodations for students who fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act. In granting the contempt motion, Spero extended the consent decree, originally scheduled to expire in May, until 2020. Department of Fair Employment and Housing v. Law School Admission Council, Inc. 12-CV01830 (N.C. Cal., filed April 12, 2012).

"While we had hoped for a different outcome on some issues, we see last week's hearing as a very constructive step forward," LSAC said in a statement. "We would much rather work together with DFEH and other groups to provide access and accommodation, instead of spending resources in litigation. We have taken significant steps to expand access, and we intend to follow the Judge's instruction to all parties to work even more closely together to fulfill our common goal of ensuring access for all test-takers."

In the case, LSAC argued fees should be awarded at $170 per hour rather than at current market rates, pointing to 2012 and 2013 statements from DFEH's then-director. Spero rejected this argument, writing in his opinion "such statements were not tied to this particular case, and LSAC offers no legal authority why they should affect the Court's consideration of the issue."

"LSAC does not dispute that DFEH is entitled to fees, but argues that the fees it seeks are excessive," Spero wrote in his opinion.

Spero awarded fees at the "market rates" sought by the state agency: $850 per hour for associate chief counsel Mari Mayeda, $425 per hour for mid-level attorneys Joni Carrasco and Irina Trasovan and $290 per hour for law fellow and former law clerk Kaitlin Toyama. The fees will go into an enforcement and litigation fund to be allocated by the Legislature, according to the Fair Employment statement.

Spero denied the state agency's request for fees related to reviewing documents in Pennsylvania but granted compensation for informal negotiations and litigating the motions for contempt and for attorney fees.