How much time has a lawyer billed a client for what was properly secretarial work?

The second matter which requires adjustment is the amount billed at lawyer’s rates for what was properly secretarial work. On July 11, 2017, the lawyer billed 4.4 hours of time, at her lawyer’s rate, for “photocopying, hole punching, preparing tabs, index, binder covers and prepare binders for filing”. Again, on September 28, 2017, the lawyer billed for 1.4 hours to “gather pleadings and put together the hearing record”. This is secretarial work, or perhaps legal assistant work if there were more technical issues arising, and none are apparent. However necessary, this work cannot be billed at lawyer’s rates as it does not have an objective corresponding value to the client. Even if the client had authorized the lawyer to perform secretarial work at lawyer’s rates, this would be an example of what the court of appeal in Gichuru v. Smith, supra, identified as charges which are not objectively reasonable. It is not a cost which can reasonably be visited upon the respondent. Further, secretarial work is typically viewed as overhead.