The following excerpt is from Ferland v. Concord Credit Corp., 244 F.3d 1145 (9th Cir. 2001):
Ferland contends that the district court impermissibly "double-counted" her attorney's inefficiency, first by reducing her hourly rates on account of her inexperience, and then by reducing her hourly total for, partially, the same reason. Cunningham v. County of Los Angeles, 879 F.2d 481, 489 (9th Cir. 1988) (noting that in "ordinary cases .. . double counting is impermissible"). The district court's reductions, however, were not necessarily duplicative. The district court reduced the hourly rate awarded to Ferland's counsel because it found that she was inexperienced, but the court could alsoreasonably have decided that even taking into account her inexperience, some of her hours were excessive as compared to what one would expect of a similarly inexperienced attorney.
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