97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB3879

 

Introduced 11/7/2011, by Rep. André M. Thapedi

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
815 ILCS 505/10e new
815 ILCS 510/3.5 new

    Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Provides the allowable hourly rates for attorney's fees awarded under both Acts. Provides a calculation to adjust the prices annually starting in calendar year 2013. Effective immediately.


LRB097 14440 AEK 59542 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3879LRB097 14440 AEK 59542 b

1    AN ACT concerning business.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business
5Practices Act is amended by adding Section 10e as follows:
 
6    (815 ILCS 505/10e new)
7    Sec. 10e. Attorney's fees.
8    (a) The hourly rate of reasonable attorney's fees awarded
9under this Act shall be calculated as follows:
10        (1) $475 an hour for very experienced litigators, i.e.,
11    lawyers in their 20th year or thereafter following
12    graduation from law school;
13        (2) $420 an hour for experienced litigators in their
14    11th through 19th years after law school graduation;
15        (3) $335 an hour for experienced litigators in their
16    8th through 10th years after graduation from law school;
17        (4) $275 an hour for senior associates, i.e., 4 to 7
18    years after graduation from law school;
19        (5) $230 an hour for junior associates, i.e., 1 to 3
20    years after law school graduation; and
21        (6) $135 an hour for paralegals and law clerks.
22    (b) The hourly rates set forth in this Section shall be
23increased annually by adding the change in the cost of living

 

 

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1for the Chicago area to the applicable hourly rate for the
2prior year, rounding to the nearest multiple of $5 (up if
3within $3 of the next multiple of $5). The result shall be
4subject to adjustment if appropriate to ensure that the
5relationship between the higher rate and the lower rates
6remains reasonably constant. Hourly rates shall be annually
7increased as provided in this subsection (b) starting in
8calendar year 2013.
9    For the purposes of this Section, "changes in the cost of
10living for the Chicago area" means the change measured by the
11Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for
12Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL (Metropolitan division), as
13announced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in May of each
14year.
15    (c) In determining the base level of the hourly rate
16allowed under subsection (a), the level of an attorney's
17experience shall be his or her experience on the date the work
18for which compensation is sought is performed.
 
19    Section 10. The Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act is
20amended by adding Section 3.5 as follows:
 
21    (815 ILCS 510/3.5 new)
22    Sec. 3.5. Attorney's fees.
23    (a) The hourly rate of reasonable attorney's fees awarded
24under this Act shall be calculated as follows:

 

 

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1        (1) $475 an hour for very experienced litigators, i.e.,
2    lawyers in their 20th year or thereafter following
3    graduation from law school;
4        (2) $420 an hour for experienced litigators in their
5    11th through 19th years after law school graduation;
6        (3) $335 an hour for experienced litigators in their
7    8th through 10th years after graduation from law school;
8        (4) $275 an hour for senior associates, i.e., 4 to 7
9    years after graduation from law school;
10        (5) $230 an hour for junior associates, i.e., 1 to 3
11    years after law school graduation; and
12        (6) $135 an hour for paralegals and law clerks.
13    (b) The hourly rates set forth in this Section shall be
14increased annually by adding the change in the cost of living
15for the Chicago area to the applicable hourly rate for the
16prior year, rounding to the nearest multiple of $5 (up if
17within $3 of the next multiple of $5). The result shall be
18subject to adjustment if appropriate to ensure that the
19relationship between the higher rate and the lower rates
20remains reasonably constant. Hourly rates shall be annually
21increased as provided in this subsection (b) starting in
22calendar year 2013.
23    For the purposes of this Section, "changes in the cost of
24living for the Chicago area" means the change measured by the
25Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for
26Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL (Metropolitan division), as

 

 

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1announced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in May of each
2year.
3    (c) In determining the base level of the hourly rate
4allowed under subsection (a), the level of an attorney's
5experience shall be his or her experience on the date the work
6for which compensation is sought is performed.
 
7    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
8becoming law.