REMEDIES FOR UNFAIR PRACTICES; MISCELLANEOUS REMEDIAL PROVISIONS – Attorneys Fees and Costs

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In cases where PERB awards legal expenses, either as make-whole relief or as a litigation sanction, the appropriate method for determining professional fees is generally the lodestar method, which involves multiplying a reasonable number of hours spent on a matter by a reasonable hourly rate for private legal professionals with similar experience. (Sacramento City Unified School District (2020) PERB Decision No. 2749, pp. 15-16 (Sacramento).) Reviewing attorney time records, verified by declaration, is an accepted method for assessing the reasonableness of the number of hours spent litigating a matter. (See Horsford v. Board of Trustees of California State University (2005) 132 Cal.App.4th 359, 396-397.) The goal is to ensure that the award is consistent with the prevailing market rate for professionals at a private law firm with a similar degree of experience. (Sacramento, supra, PERB Decision No. 2749, p. 16.) This also provides an orderly system for resolving fee disputes that does not require protracted litigation into the appropriateness of a fee demand. (Id. at p. 20, citing Serrano v. Unruh (1982) 32 Cal.3d 621, 642.) PERB may adjust the resulting fee calculation upward or downward, thereby allowing some flexibility in assessing the market value of the legal services performed. (Id. at pp. 15-16.) It is not appropriate to reduce a lodestar award merely because some or all the legal professionals work for a nonprofit, government agency, or in-house legal department, or otherwise are paid a flat salary and do not bill clients for their time. (Id. at pp. 16-19 & fn. 10.)