5th Cir. R. 47.8 — Attorney’s Fees

High confidence· verified September 26, 2026Local Rules

Summary

5th Cir. R. 47.8 — Attorney’s Fees: the court's own rule, verbatim from RULES and INTERNAL OPERATING PROCEDURES OF THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT (December 2025), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: applies to appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit alongside the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.

Requirement

47.8.1 Supporting Requirements. Petitions or motions for the award of attorney's fees should always be supported by contemporaneous time records recording all work for which a fee is claimed and reflecting the hours or fractional hours of work done and the specific professional level of services performed by each lawyer seeking compensation. In the absence of such records, time expended will not be considered in setting the fee beyond the minimum amount necessary in the court's judgment for any lawyer to produce the work seen in court. Exceptions may be made only to avoid an unconscionable result. The clerk will make reasonable efforts to advise counsel about this rule, but whether or not counsel has been advised, ignorance of this rule is not, standing alone, grounds for an exception. If the reasonableness of the hours claimed on the basis of time records becomes an issue, the applicant must make time records available for inspection by opposing counsel and, if a dispute is not resolved between them, by the court. 47.8.2 Attorney’s Fees and Expenses Under the Equal Access to Justice Act. This rule implements the provisions of the Equal Access to Justice Act, Public Law No. 96-481, 94 Stat. 2325 (1980). (a) Applications to the Court of Appeals. An application for an award of fees and expenses pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(B) must identify the applicant and the proceeding for which an award is sought. The application must show the nature and extent of services provided in this court and that the applicant has prevailed, and must identify the position of the United States or an agency thereof that the applicant alleges was not substantially justified. (b) Petitions by Permission. A petition for leave to appeal pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 504(c)(2) must be filed with the clerk of the court of appeals within 30 days after the entry of the agency's order, with proof of service on all other parties to the agency's proceedings. (c) The petition must contain a copy of the order to be reviewed and any findings of fact, conclusions of law, and opinion relating thereto, a statement of the facts necessary to an understanding of the petition, and a memorandum showing why the petition for permission to appeal should be granted. An answer may be filed within 30 days after service of the petition, unless otherwise directed by the court. The application and any answer will be submitted without further briefing and oral argument unless otherwise ordered. (d) An original and 3 copies must be filed with the court. (e) Within 10 days after the entry of an order granting permission to appeal, the applicant must pay the clerk of this court the docket fee prescribed by the Judicial Conference of the United States. Upon receipt of the payment, the clerk will enter the appeal upon the docket. The record shall be transmitted and filed in accordance with FED. R. APP. P. 17. A notice of appeal need not be filed. (f) Appeals/Petitions to Review. Appeals and petitions to review matters otherwise contemplated by the Equal Access to Justice Act may be filed pursuant to the applicable statutes and rules of the court.

Source of truth

47.8.1 Supporting Requirements. Petitions or motions for the award of attorney's fees should always be supported by contemporaneous time records recording all work for which a fee is claimed and reflecting the hours or fractional hours of work done and the specific professional l

Official source: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit (Rules & Procedures)
Source health: Healthy · checked October 4, 2026
Effective date: —
Last verified: September 26, 2026benchpath-appfed-rules-2026-09-25

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