Reasonable Attorney's Fees

Definition
Reasonable attorney's fees are calculated as the product of the reasonable hours that an attorney works times a reasonable rate for those hours. Attorney's fees have also been defined as a fee that is “adequate to attract competent counsel, but ... [that does] not produce windfalls to attorneys.”

Application
Attorney's Fees are awarded upon the discretion of the court, and only if the statute in question requires or allows them, if the case is heard in federal court or if fees were agreed to by the parties in a contract between them. Attorney's fees are not typically awarded in state court.