"Sterling Success" in Kirwa Litigation Earns $700K EAJA Fee Award

Kirwa v. Department of Defense

"The Court will grant the parties’ Joint Motion for Attorneys’ Fees, approve the parties’ Settlement Agreement [Dkt. No. 251-2], and award attorneys’ fees and costs in the amount of $700,000. ... [T]his is substantially lower than counsel’s standard hourly rate. See Wollenberg Decl. at ¶ 8 (noting that, at class counsel’s standard hourly rate, their time would be valued at $2,568,022). ... The Court therefore finds that the proposed amount of $700,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs agreed upon by the parties adequately reflects plaintiffs’ sterling success and is a reasonable and fair award. See Little v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth., 313 F. Supp. 3d 27, 39 (D.D.C. 2018) (awarding attorneys’ fees where class counsel “demonstrated exceptional skill in litigating an extremely difficult case and obtaining class certification for liability purposes,” the case lasted several years and was complex, and the effort ultimately resulted in substantial relief to class members)."

[Hats off to Jennifer Wollenberg, Neaha Raol, Susan Baker Manning, Joseph J. LoBue, Kayla M.S. Kaplan and Douglas W. Baruch!]