Judge Sargent approves $300 hourly rate in Abingdon Title VII case

In Atkins v. VDOT, Magistrate Judge Sargent awarded fees for plaintiff's counsel in a Title VII case at the hourly rate of $300. As part of her decision, she specifically rejected VDOT's argument that the hourly rate for cases in the Abingdon jury division should be lower than the rate for cases in the Roanoke jury division. Judge Sargent appears to have read every one of the time entries and disallowed the ones that caught her eye as unnecessary. Back in the day, Judge Sargent had to submit her time in some federal court-appointed cases and I expect that she expects counsel to give their time entries something like the same level of attention that she did.