Full opinion text
OPINION PATEL, District Judge. These consolidated actions alleging constitutional and statutory violations arising from racial discrimination and harassment in employment practices were settled pursuant to a Consent Decree filed May 20, 1988. The matter is now before the court on plaintiff-intervenors’ motion for an award of attorneys’ fees under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(k). Having considered the submissions of the parties, the court awards fees as set forth below. BACKGROUND These consolidated employment discrimination actions were brought by the United States and various individuals and organizations (“plaintiff-intervenors”) against the City and County of San Francisco (“the City”) in 1984 under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and the State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act of 1972, 31 U.S.C. § 6701 et seq. (repealed 1986). Although this action was first initiated by the United States, private plaintiffs were allowed to intervene and carried the bulk of the work. The United States entered into an agreement disposing of its interest in the litigation well before entry of the final consent decree. The provisions of the government’s agreement were mainly hortatory. The significant achievements on behalf of class members were accomplished by plaintiff-intervenors. As consolidated, the claims in these actions focused on the City’s use of invalid hiring and promotional procedures that had an adverse impact on women and minorities. Certain claims also alleged racial harassment of minority firefighters. All claims were settled as between the City and the plaintiff and plaintiff-intervenors pursuant to a consent decree filed May 20, 1988. United States v. City and County of San Francisco, 696 F.Supp. 1287, 1312 (N.D.Cal.1988) (“Davis III”), aff'd, 890 F.2d 1438 (9th Cir.1989), petition for cert. filed (Aug. 7, 1990) (No. 90-248). Although the decree settled all disputes on the merits, it did not resolve attorneys’ fees. On December 2, 1988, counsel for plaintiff intervenors (“fee applicants”) filed a motion seeking an award of attorney’s fees against the City and against defendants-in-intervention, San Francisco Firefighters Union, Local No. 798 (“the Union” or “Local 798”) under Title VII, section 706(k) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(k). LEGAL STANDARD The standards for attorneys’ fee awards for prevailing Title VII plaintiffs are the same as those for fee awards under the Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Awards Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. § 1988. Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 433 n. 7, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 1939 n. 7, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983). Accordingly, absent special circumstances, prevailing Title VII plaintiffs should recover attorneys’ fees. Id. at 429, 103 S.Ct. at 1937. Ordinarily, plaintiffs will be considered to have prevailed when they have vindicated important rights or when they succeed on any significant issue that achieves some of the benefit the parties sought in bringing suit. Maher v. Gagne, 448 U.S. 122, 129, 100 S.Ct. 2570, 2574, 65 L.Ed.2d 653 (1980); Hensley, 461 U.S. at 433, 103 S.Ct. at 1939 (citing Nadeau v. Helgemoe, 581 F.2d 275, 278-79 (1st Cir.1978)). If the court determines that plaintiffs have prevailed, it must calculate a reasonable attorneys’ fee. The first step in this process is to arrive at a preliminary estimate of the value of the lawyer’s services by multiplying the number of hours reasonably expended by a reasonable hourly rate. Hensley, 461 U.S. at 433, 103 S.Ct. at 1939. To assist the court in arriving at this “lodestar” figure, the Ninth Circuit has adopted a twelve-factor formula which must be applied in each case. Kerr v. Screen Extras Guild, 526 F.2d 67, 70 (9th Cir.1975), cert. denied, 425 U.S. 951, 96 S.Ct. 1726, 48 L.Ed.2d 195 (1976). Supporting documentation with respect to the hours claimed and the rate requested must be provided to the court by plaintiffs. The documentation must be “sufficiently detailed that a neutral judge could make a fair evaluation of the time expended, the nature and need for the service, and the reasonable fees to be allowed.” Jordan v. Multnomah County, 815 F.2d 1258, 1263 (9th Cir.1987) (quoting Hensley, 461 U.S. at 441, 103 S.Ct. at 1943 (Burger, C.J., concurring)). There is a strong presumption that the resulting lodestar figure constitutes the reasonable fee, although it may be enhanced in rare cases. Jordan, 815 F.2d at 1262. DISCUSSION Both the City and the Union concede that plaintiff-intervenors are prevailing parties. The current dispute is whether the attorneys’ fees requested are reasonable. The issues of both the hours expended and the rates requested have been thoroughly briefed and subjected to extensive discovery. The court will take each in turn. I. Hours Reasonably Expended In arriving at a figure for hours reasonably expended in litigation, the court employs the first of the twelve Kerr factors—the time and labor required. The fee applicants must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the hours expended on the litigation were reasonable. They must submit detailed time records. Chalmers v. City of Los Angeles, 796 F.2d 1205, 1210 (9th Cir.1986), reh’g denied, opinion amended, 808 F.2d 1373 (9th Cir.1987). The court may reduce the allowable hours on the grounds of inadequate documentation, overstaffing, duplicative hours, or excessive or otherwise unnecessary hours. Id. The City and, to a lesser extent, the Union challenge the reported hours on all of these bases. A. Inadequate Documentation The City argues that plaintiff-inter-venors’ hours must be reduced due to overly vague descriptions of counsels’ activities. According to the City, time sheets only describing “co-counsel meeting,” “client meeting” or “legal research” are too general to aid the court in determining whether the hours chronicled were reasonably expended. The City compares these inadequacies to those found in Daly v. Hill, 790 F.2d 1071, 1079-80 (4th Cir.1986) (deducting virtually all hours described only as “conference with client”); Grogg v. General Motors Corp., 612 F.Supp. 1375, 1382 (S.D.N.Y.1985) (50% reduction in total hours where records too vague to determine whether hours were reasonably expended); and Kraszewski v. State Farm Insurance, 36 F.E.P.Cas. 1371, 1378, 1984 WL 1027 (N.D.Cal.1984) (deducting hours described only as “conference with [name]”). In response, the plaintiff-intervenors argue that the court may properly refer to the relevant context of the litigation history and to summaries prepared from plaintiffs notes and files to resolve any vague time records. This court agrees. “Basing the attorneys’ fee award in part on reconstructed records developed by reference to litigation files and other records” is an established practice in this circuit. Bonnette v. California Health and Welfare Agency, 704 F.2d 1465, 1473 (9th Cir.1983), aff'g 525 F.Supp. 128 (N.D.Cal.1981). Accord, Beta Sys., Inc. v. United States, 866 F.2d 1404, 1406 (Fed.Cir.1989) (documentation held sufficiently detailed where supplemented by “typical billing records, showing time and charges, a description of the work done, and by whom”); Berberena v. Coler, 753 F.2d 629, 634 (7th Cir.1985) (otherwise vague entries on time sheets deemed permissible when viewed in the context of sufficiently detailed surrounding documentation); City of Detroit v. Grinnell Corp., 560 F.2d 1093, 1103 (2d Cir.1977) (allowing reconstruction of undocumented time records by reference to pleading files, time records of other attorneys and other contemporaneous documents). In response to court instructions, the City submitted a detailed summary of challenged records. Plaintiff-intervenors have submitted extensive reconstructed time records covering each of the challenged time entries. The reconstructed records were based upon (1) agendas and summaries of meetings; (2) notes and time records of co-counsel; and (3) the temporal and factual context of the challenged events. The court has examined these records and determines that no reduction is necessary, particularly in light of plaintiff-inter-venors’ 5% reduction for billing judgment. The challenged hours were reasonably spent. B. Overstaffing The City and the Union both assert that the plaintiff-intervenors’ litigation team of seven attorneys constitutes gross overstaffing. The City argues that there were no real conflicts among the five subclasses of litigants, that no conflicting legal positions were ever asserted in briefs, that much of the Consent Decree does not differentiate between groups, that to the extent that the Consent Decree encompasses distinct goals for subclasses, those goals were reached either without dispute or based upon the City’s initiative. According to the City, although the potential for conflict existed, it never appeared. Plaintiff-intervenors counter that, in fact, conflicts among subclasses did exist, but that through coordination and meetings, which apparently were rancorous at times, Paterson Reply Deck para. 10, various counsel were able to present a united front in the litigation. They argue that the fact that no conflicts surfaced in briefs or before the court is testament to their cooperative skills, skills for which they should not be penalized. In fact, this court has already visited this issue in its Supplemental Fee Order of August 31, 1988. At that time, in response to the City’s charge that too many attorneys were being used, the court stated: As often happens in complex litigation of this kind, the interests of all the subclasses are not precisely aligned on all issues. This requires that on every motion before the court, all counsel prepare and confer. The City should always be aware that when its actions spawn litigation it will be responsible for all reasonable attorneys’ fees for all parties adversely affected by its actions. Supplemental Order Awarding Attorneys’ Fees at 9. Accordingly, no reduction in hours should be levied for time related to multiple class representation. The City also argues that, even , if one concedes the need to represent each subclass, only five attorneys were necessary. The City contends that Ms. Paterson and Mr. McNeill had needlessly overlapping responsibilities during the litigation, and that Mr. Galloway spent over 390 hours on general litigation activity when his supposed role was that of a testing expert. Additionally, the City and Local 798 argue that counsel for both subclasses of women, and counsel for Asians and for Hispanics went beyond representing the interests of their subclasses when they took part in general work including discovery, settlement activities and briefing. The City views all of these activities as indicative of unnecessary overstaffing in light of the expertise and experience of counsel. The need for multiple counsel in complex class action litigation is well recognized. The Eleventh Circuit noted that “[t]he retaining of multiple attorneys in a significant, lengthy employment discrimination case ... [is] not a ground for reducing the hours claimed.... [A] reduction is warranted only if the attorneys are unreasonably doing the same work.” Johnson v. University College of Univ. of Ala., 706 F.2d 1205, 1208 (11th Cir.) (emphasis added), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 994, 104 S.Ct. 489, 78 L.Ed.2d 684 (1983). Accord, Probe v. State Teachers’ Retirement Sys., 780 F.2d 776, 785 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1170, 106 S.Ct. 2891, 90 L.Ed.2d 978 (1986). In reviewing the time records, the court is awarding fees for most of the claimed hours, since they “reflect [] the distinct contribution of each lawyer to the case.” Johnson, 706 F.2d at 1208. However, the lodestar amount is reduced as follows due to certain multiple appearances by counsel and law students at depositions and hearings: Attorney Blanco—14 hours; Attorney Galloway—5.2 hours; Attorney McNeill—11 hours from his time with the firm of Pearl, McNeill & Gillespie; law student Edwards—6 hours. C. Duplicative Work The City and the Union also maintain that much of the work billed in this case was duplicative. The City cites the following examples of duplication: (1) approximately 3500 hours spent either in co-counsel or client conferences; (2) 608 hours spent on file review; (3) excessive time spent drafting and researching. The City seeks a 50% reduction in the first two instances and “a substantial reduction” in the third. If any of the enumerated charges are duplications they, must be deducted. Clark v. Marsh, 609 F.Supp. 1028, 1034-35 (D.D. C.1985) (50% of client conference time deducted); Jennings v. Lenox Hill Hosp., 42 F.E.P.Cas. 555, 558, 1986 WL 1177 (S.D.N.Y.1986) (reduction where use of multiple attorneys resulted in unnecessary time spent familiarizing each with case); Farris v. Cox, 508 F.Supp. 222, 226 (N.D.Cal.1981) (reduction of time where multiple attorneys attended depositions and hearings). The plaintiff-intervenors lodge several replies. First, they point out that the presence of several attorneys at strategy sessions for complex civil rights class action cases may be crucial to the case. Berberena, 753 F.2d at 633; McKenzie v. Kennickell, 645 F.Supp. 437, 450 (D.D.C.1986) (awarding attorneys’ fees for co-counsel conferences); Williamsburg Fair Hous. Comm. v. Ross-Rodney Hous. Corp., 599 F.Supp. 509, 518 (S.D.N.Y.1984) (“Multiple attorneys may be essential for planning strategy, eliciting testimony or evaluating facts or law.”). Plaintiff-inter-venors present evidence, in the form of agendas, meeting summaries and deposition testimony, of the efficient and essential nature of their co-counsel meetings. See, e.g., Paterson Reply Deck para. 11. Their evidence is comprehensive and persuasive. Plaintiff-intervenor counsel have met their burden of proving that attendance at co-counsel meetings was not dupli-cative. Second, as to excessive file review, the plaintiff-intervenors assert that the defendants have mischaracterized documented work by labeling any work with the word “review” in it as file review. The court’s comparison of the attorney time records and the City’s summaries supports that contention. In generating computer summaries, perhaps to facilitate data entry, the City forced attorney activities into narrow, at times unsuitable categories. Therefore, the conclusions which the City reached based on the faulty data are themselves faulty (once again illustrating the computer adage: garbage in, garbage out). No hours will be deducted for excessive file review. Third, plaintiff-intervenors assert that the time spent drafting (and presumably researching) the pleadings in this case was reasonable. They insist that the 2,700 hours that the City alleges they spent on briefing seven motions, three state appellate briefs, and two trial briefs compares favorably to other cases where fees were awarded. See, e.g., Thompson v. Barrett, 509 F.Supp. 806, 811 (D.D.C.1984) (1,600 hours spent on one appeal). The court agrees. Moreover, a certain amount of drafting time is included in the 5% reduction for billing judgment. D. Non-Legal Work The City and the Union contend that the plaintiff-intervenors seek compensation for activities that are not billable legal work. The challenged hours include time spent on travel, clerical matters, press conferences, Title YII presentations to organizations and incorporation of the Black Firefighters Association. 1. Travel Time. The City argues that much of the travel time in this case was spent by attorneys McNeill and Galloway essentially commuting to the office of co-counsel and is thus either compensable at a reduced rate, assuming work was done in transit, or not compensable at all. Plaintiff-intervenors counter that the City has improperly characterized as “commuting” travel by the two attorneys from their respective offices to the office of co-counsel. Plaintiff-intervenors describe Mr. Galloway’s residence as both his home and his office. Furthermore, according to plaintiff-intervenors, both men generally worked on the case while traveling to co-counsel meetings via public transit. Moreover, plaintiff-intervenors’ counsel have submitted evidence establishing that local attorneys customarily bill their clients for travel time to co-counsel meetings. Schulz Depo. at 41:3-42:8; Barg Depo. at 16-23-18:11. Reasonable attorneys’ fees include reasonable travel time compensated at the full hourly rate. Rose Confections, Inc. v. Ambrosia Chocolate Co., 816 F.2d 381, 396 (8th Cir.1987) (travel to and from depositions compensable) (citing Craik v. Minnesota State Univ. Bd., 738 F.2d 348, 350 (8th Cir.1984) (travel to oral argument)); Henry v. Webermeier, 738 F.2d 188, 194 (7th Cir.1984) (traveling time in statutory fee cases compensable just as for fee-paying clients); Danny Kresky Enter, v. Magid, 716 F.2d 215, 217-18 (3rd Cir.1983). The court finds that the travel time claimed herein is reasonable. 2. Clerical Matters. The City contends that the plaintiff-inter-venors’ counsel spent some 83 hours on clerical chores such as xeroxing or serving and filing papers. Plaintiff-intervenors counter that the City’s figure for total clerical hours is suspect, citing certain incorrect consolidations of clerical and non-clerical chores. Courts have deducted time spent by attorneys in xeroxing, Rajender v. Univ. of Minn., 546 F.Supp. 158, 165-166 (D.Minn.1982), and time spent filing court papers, Cook v. Block, 609 F.Supp. 1036, 1042 (D.D.C.1985). But here, counsel spent less time involved in these or other clerical matters than the City contends. Once again, the City’s computer summaries are in error. The court’s comparison of those summaries versus the actual time records of the attorneys revealed inaccurate portrayals by the City in addition to those errors alleged by plaintiff-intervenors’ counsel. For example, the City’s summary lists 3.3 hours spent by Mr. McNeill on August 19, 1986 as “clerical.” However, Mr. McNeill’s time records for that day show that the hours the city must be referring to were spent finalizing an amicus brief (the only other hours billed that day being 1.65 in various phone conferences and .75 on a letter to the Special Master). Moreover, the plaintiff-intervenors’ counsel already deducted 5% of their hours in the exercise of billing judgment. That deduction will take care of any hours spent by attorneys xeroxing or filing papers with the court. In light of the deduction, and keeping in mind the suspect characterization of “clerical” hours by the City, no additional reduction is warranted. 3.Press Conferences. The City and Local 798 also urge deletion of the time spent by counsel in press conferences and at a demonstration staged to foster political support among the City Board of Supervisors. Plaintiff-in-tervenors contend that such time is com-pensable because it furthered their goals of engendering necessary political support among the City’s Board of Supervisors and of keeping class members apprised of the case. Whether viewed as an effort to lobby the Board of Supervisors on behalf of their clients, or as a method of keeping class members apprised of events, press conference time may be compensable. Attorney work in the political arena, where narrowly focused on fostering the litigation goals of their clients, is compensable. Jenkins v. Missouri, 862 F.2d 677, 678 (8th Cir.1988) (time spent campaigning for passage of tax levy funding court-ordered desegregation plan held compensable), aff'd, — U.S. -, 109 S.Ct. 2463, 105 L.Ed.2d 229 (1989). Moreover, this court has previously found compensable the use of the media to publicize an action to class members. Pollar v. Judson Steel Cory., 49 F.E.P.Cas. 224, 225, 1985 WL 312 (N.D.Cal.1985). In this case, obtaining the support of the Board of Supervisors, whose members are elected by the citizens of the City and County of San Francisco, was as vital to the consent decree as were the negotiations with the City’s administrative officials. Therefore, the time is compensable. 4.Presentations to Organizations. The City maintains that Mr. McNeill has billed for some 20 hours spent giving talks to various community organizations. First, the court notes that Mr. McNeill’s time records indicate that he did not bill for nine of the contested hours. McNeill Deck, Ex. A(l) at 58. Moreover, closer review of these hours, as well as similar hours by Ms. Marshall, shows that both attorneys spent the time conferring with their clients and with attorneys and firefighters involved in similar litigation. McNeill Reply Deck para. 12; Marshall Depo. at 15:24-16:13. The contested activities were com-pensable legal work; the hours, save the nine deducted ones, will be included in the lodestar figure. 5.Incorporation of the Black Firefighters Association. The City and the Union challenge the plaintiff-intervenor counsels’ billing for 8.5 hours spent incorporating this organization. Plaintiff-intervenors concede that this time is not compensable and assert that it has already been deducted from their total hours. After a review of plaintiff-intervenor counsels’ submissions, the court finds that in deed the disputed hours were deducted. McNeill Deck para. 11(a). E. Unsuccessful Claims The City and the Union urge the deduction of hours spent on the unsuccessful challenges to the Fire Department’s drug testing program and to the dismissal of two female applicants from the Fire College. They also seek deduction of the hours spent on the allegedly unrelated work instituting state court writ proceedings to overturn Civil Service Commission decisions and representing individual Black firefighters at disciplinary proceedings. The Supreme Court has held that no fee should be awarded in attorneys’ fee cases for unsuccessful claims which are based on different facts and different legal theories than the successful claims. Texas State Teachers Ass’n v. Garland Indep. School Dist., 489 U.S. 782, -, 109 S.Ct. 1486, 1492, 103 L.Ed.2d 866 (1989). However, plaintiff-intervenors’ counsel argue that since they have achieved excellent results, they deserve a fully compensatory fee even though they did not prevail on every issue. Hensley, 461 U.S. at 435, 103 S.Ct. at 1940. Furthermore, they maintain that their fee should include most of the contested hours because the claims are closely related to those on which plaintiff-intervenors prevailed. Keeping these legal principles and the arguments of counsel in mind, the court addresses each claim in turn. 1.Challenge to Drug Testing Program. The City argues that plaintiff-inter-venors’ challenge to the Fire Department’s substance abuse screening program was unrelated to the race and sex discrimination claims which were central to this case. The fee applicants counter that they challenged the drug testing program because they believed it would be used pretextually to discriminate against women and minority job applicants. However, a review of this court’s August 27, 1987 order denying plaintiff-intervenors’ motion for a preliminary injunction demonstrates that they objected to the proposed testing solely on fourth amendment and analogous state law grounds. Consequently, the fee applicants cannot receive compensation for time spent presenting those constitutional objections. Nevertheless, some of the time spent litigating the substance abuse screening program is compensable. Prior to the issuance of a temporary restraining order on July 24, 1987, the City intended to move forward with its drug screening program despite this court’s February 1986 order placing any such program under the supervision of the court and the monitor. United States v. City and County of San Francisco, 656 F.Supp. 276, 292-93 (N.D.Cal.1987) (“Davis I”) (monitor to supervise interim hiring; City to submit proposal regarding conduct of medical investigations), aff'd as modified, 890 F.2d 1438 (9th Cir.1989), petition for cert. filed (August 7, 1990) (No. 90-248). Consequently, plaintiff-intervenors were forced to expend resources in order to seek a stay and in order to litigate the threshold issue of this court’s jurisdiction over the dispute. Since they prevailed in both instances, the fee applicants are entitled to a compensatory award. One third of the total hours spent on challenging the substance abuse screening program are thus compensable. Accordingly, two-thirds of the hours challenged by the City shall be deducted as follows: Ms. Hulett—13.5 hours; Mr. Lee —-1 hour; Ms. Paterson—5 hours; Mr. McNeill—24 hours from his time with the Culver Law Firm; Ms. Marshall—11 hours. 2.Challenged Dismissal of Female Trainees. The City also argues that the unsuccessful attempt to reverse the dismissal of two women from the Fire College was unrelated to the prevailing claims. The court disagrees. Counsels’ work to reverse those dismissals was part of the larger goal of increasing the hiring and retention rates for all female applicants, on which they prevailed. Furthermore, no one has contested plaintiff-intervenors’ counsel’s assertion that the City has since adopted the very standards (regarding the length and focus of training for female applicants) which were sought for the two dismissed women. Marshall Reply Deel. para. 15. Compensation is merited for the contested hours. 3.State Writ Proceedings and Disciplinary Proceedings. According to the City and the Union, Mr. McNeill’s representation of individual black firefighters in state court writ proceedings and in disciplinary hearings is unrelated to the prevailing claim in this case. The writ proceedings were brought to block publication of promotion lists which were compiled based on allegedly invalid tests. However, the theories pursued in the writ proceedings were not based on race discrimination; instead counsel argued that a lack of notice of grading procedures was a denial of due process and that grading distinctions made between those who answered one or two questions and those who answered none violated equal protection guarantees. McNeill Depo. at 116:12— 20. Those arguments would apply to test-takers regardless of race or gender and victory would have done nothing to advance the interests of the plaintiff class. The claims at issue (Mr. Braden’s and Mr. Demmons’) are unrelated to the core facts of this case. With regard to the disciplinary hearings, plaintiff-intervenors contend that the representation was related to the racial harassment charges in the primary litigation. However, neither Mr. McNeill’s deposition testimony nor his time sheets establish any link to work on racial harassment claims. McNeill Depo. at 126-29. Attorney McNeill's testimony tends to indicate that the representation before the Fire Commission was related to disciplinary action due to a firefighter’s drug usage. No evidence is before the court on the relationship between disciplining a drug abuser and racial harassment. Counsel has not argued, for example, that similarly situated white firefighters went undisciplined. Time spent on the disciplinary matter shall be deducted. The cases cited by counsel for plaintiff-intervenors to support a contrary result are distinguishable. In each case, the contested hours were spent representing the interests of the entire class in matters closely related to the core issues in the primary litigation. Pennsylvania v. Delaware Valley Citizens’ Council for Clean Air, 478 U.S. 546, 106 S.Ct. 3088, 92 L.Ed.2d 439 (1986) (“Delaware Valley I”) (appearances before state and federal agencies and state court on behalf of all class members were compensable as post-judgment monitoring of consent decree); Chrapliwy v. Uniroyal, Inc., 670 F.2d 760, 766 (7th Cir.1982) (time spent on debarment proceedings which involved issues identical to, and which led to settlement of, the Title VII proceedings held compensable), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 956, 103 S.Ct. 2428, 77 L.Ed.2d 1315 (1983); Lampher v. Zagel, 755 F.2d 99, 103-04 (7th Cir.1985) (hours compensable where spent representing identical parties in state court proceeding with identical issues). The hours spent on the state court writ proceedings and the disciplinary hearings are properly deductible. Plaintiff-inter-venors did not contest the City’s assertion that over 100 hours were spent on these issues. Accordingly, 120 hours are deducted from Attorney McNeill’s compensable hours as follows: one hundred hours are deducted from his billings with the law firm of Pearl, McNeill & Gillespie for the state writ proceeding; 10 hours are deducted from his billings as a sole practitioner; and 10 hours are deducted from his billings with the Culver Law Firm. F. Law Student Hours The City and the Union argue that much of the law student time in this case is not compensable. The City argues that the law students engaged in unrelated work on the drug testing issue and on jury selection, conducted possibly redundant research, spent excessive time drafting interrogatories, and spent time engaged in clerical chores. First, with respect to work on drug testing, two-thirds of the challenged hours are not compensable, as discussed in subsection E, above. Therefore, 36.7 hours shall be deducted from the lodestar amount for law student Michael Adams. Second, with respect to work related to jury selection, all challenged hours are allowable. The work was especially relevant to this case given the fact that the City did not concede the key issues until the very eve of trial after substantial preparation for trial had commenced. Third, with respect to redundant research, the City contends that no showing has been made that 9.5 hours spent in research by Em Herzstein, a law clerk for Ms. Dunlap, were not reasonably expended. A review of Ms. Herzstein’s time records reveals that the contested hours were spent not merely on research, but also on writing and discussing two memoranda on distinct issues in the litigation. The hours were reasonably spent. Fourth, with respect to the drafting of interrogatories, the court finds the hours were reasonably expended. While an attorney may well have been able to accomplish the task more expeditiously, it is not beyond reason to assign the task to a law clerk who will bill at a lower rate for the time spent. Finally, with respect to the clerical work assertedly performed by Ms. Edwards, a law clerk for Ms. Paterson, the court has examined closely her time records. Thirteen hours spent xeroxing are hereby deducted as not properly compensable paralegal time. II. Reasonable Hourly Rate The reasonable hourly rate is determined by reference to the prevailing rate in the community for similar work by attorneys of like skill, reputation and experience. Jordan, 815 F.2d at 1262-63. The prevailing party must present evidence on the issue beyond affidavits of counsel. Id. at 1263. The court has taken into account rate evidence provided by plaintiff-inter-venors, the City and the Union. That evidence will be assessed below in light of the Kerr factors. While the factors “[are] not intended to be exhaustive or exclusive,” Chalmers, 796 F.2d at 1215 n. 5, the court finds most of them relevant in this case. A. The Relevant Kerr Factors 1. Novelty and Difficulty of Questions. Federal courts have recognized that Title VII cases are becoming increasingly difficult to litigate. Judge Orrick of this district observed that private sector Title VII cases are much more difficult now than in the early days when blanket exclusions of women, regardless of ability, and obviously racially-biased tests were more commonplace. Boyd v. Bechtel Corp., 485 F.Supp. 610, 612 (N.D.Cal.1979); accord, Fadhl v. City and County of San Francisco, 38 Empl.Prac.Dee. (CCH) ¶ 35,677 at 40,029, 1985 WL 349 (N.D.Cal. July 10, 1985) (noting general difficulties involved in litigating a Title VII case). Furthermore, the Fifth Circuit has noted, “If there ever was a time of facile Title VII litigation, it surely ended with the demise of intentional violations of equal employment opportunity. Today’s parade of Title VII cases present more and more subtle manifestations of discrimination.” Swint v. Pullman-Standard, 539 F.2d 77, 99 (5th Cir.1976). In this case plaintiff-intervenors faced the particular difficulty of proving, among other things, the adverse impact of facially objective entrance and promotional examinations. To make their case, plaintiff-inter-venors had to marshall considerable testing expertise. Moreover, the city compounded the difficulties in the case through two years of “tenacious and uncompromising pretrial litigation in defense of the challenged examinations^]” Davis I, 656 F.Supp. at 281. 2. The Skill Requisite to Perform the Legal Services Properly. To properly litigate a class action suit, counsel must be able to defeat potential challenges to their competency as adequate class counsel. Counsel must display expertise in either class litigation in general or in the subject matter of the dispute since those factors can be determinative in adequacy disputes. Grasty v. Amalgamated Clothing & Textile Workers Union, 828 F.2d 123, 129 (3rd Cir.1987) (adequacy of counsel likely met if experienced co-counsel were acquired), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 1042, 108 S.Ct. 773, 98 L.Ed.2d 860 (1988); Simon v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 73 F.R.D. 480, 485-86 (E.D.Pa.1977) (familiarity with subject matter of suit overcame lack of experience and met adequacy requirement). Representing the interests of class members during the remedial phase of this litigation also requires skilled counsel. Counsel must be alert throughout the period of the decree to the possibility of actions detrimental to their clients’ interests. For example, it was through the efforts of counsel for plaintiff-intervenors that this court was alerted to the City’s planned budget cuts which would have adversely affected the decree. As at other junctures in the litigation, counsel for plaintiff-inter-venors exhibited critical legal and political skill in opposing the budget cuts. Class counsel have submitted affidavits amply demonstrating their experience and proficiency with employment discrimination class actions in the private and public sectors. Marshall Deck at 2:23-3:16 (expertise in cases involving employment discrimination against women); McNeill Deck at 2:9-3:3 (general employment discrimination expertise); Paterson Deck at 2:2-4:l (civil rights class action expertise). 3.The Preclusion of Other Work. Counsel for plaintiff-intervenors all practice law in firms with ongoing practices. Most of them depend on public funding and thus have budgets which significantly limit the number of cases they can take. To the extent that they were involved in this case, and their affidavits indicate the massive level of commitment, they have been unable to carry other cases. In fact, Mr. McNeill's involvement so limited his ability to do other work that it apparently contributed to the demise of a partnership in which he was a member. McNeill Deck at 4:21-5:6. Moreover, the remedial phase of this suit will continue to require a significant resource commitment. Resolution of the racial harassment claims has proven to be a lengthy process. Counsel must also allot time for monitoring the progress of goals set out by the decree. In sum, the massive pre-trial discovery and negotiations and the extensive commitment required during the remedial phase support the finding that these attorneys were precluded from most other work during litigation of this case. 4.The Fixed or Contingent Nature of the Fee. The focus of analysis under this factor is whether or not other compensation, in addition to a potential fee award, is available to fee applicants. Aside from Mr. McNeill, the applicants have no fee arrangements with their clients. Most of the applicants are salaried public interest attorneys who do not charge their clients. Their salaries depend upon their organizations’ abilities to obtain funding sources, including court ordered fee awards. Mr. McNeill’s fee arrangement yielded only a small amount of compensation. Before joining the public interest group in which he now practices, Mr. McNeill had a loosely defined fee agreement with the Black Firefighters Association whereby they were to pay him whatever they could. McNeill Depo. at 34:25-35:19. As a result he received $20,-365.56 in fees through his various law firms. Ms. Dunlap and Mr. Galloway are the only attorneys for plaintiff-intervenors (except for the fees counsel) who are not employed by public interest firms. They will receive no compensation for time spent on this case other than from the fee award. 5.Time Limitations Imposed by the Client or the Circumstances. The applicants were subjected to the normal time limitations of a case which is expected to go to trial. They had to prepare their work product within the confines of the pre-trial schedule. Perhaps the most dramatic time limitation occurred in October 1986. Settlement negotiations between the City and the plaintiff-intervenors broke down. The City indicated its tentative approval of a consent decree proposed by the Department of Justice and moved to have it adopted by the Board of Supervisors. Since they believed that the Department of Justice’s consent decree would severely restrict the remedies available to their clients, counsel for the plaintiff-intervenors had to quickly assess the situation and mount a political campaign to stop the proposed decree. Their ability to respond creatively under time pressure is a positive factor in their fee award. 6. The Amount Involved and the Results Obtained. The applicants have obtained excellent results as demonstrated by the entry of four separate orders enjoining actions by the City and approving the consent decree. As this court noted in its order approving the consent decree: “The plan is comprehensive in that it creates a whole system that deals with issues including test development, recruitment, the timing of the administration of tests and the duration of promotional lists, grievance procedures for complaints regarding both testing procedures and racial harassment, human relations training, issuance of appropriate equipment to all firefighters and provision for a court-appointed monitor who will supervise the implementation of the decree.” Davis III, 696 F.Supp. at 1307. Although earlier consent decrees between the San Francisco Fire Department and minorities existed, this is the first time that the City has truly moved forward. Until recent changes in the attitude of City officials occurred, the Department was recalcitrant in its resistance to change. The few minorities in the Department were confronted with racial hostility on a day-to-day basis. While the change in political administrations motivated the City’s ultimate cooperation, the months of prior litigation could not have come to a successful conclusion without the tenacity of plaintiff-inter-venors' counsel. Besides, even given the City’s comparative cooperation late in the process, applicants still had to contend with the vigorous opposition of the Union. The applicants obtained excellent results. Broad systemic relief such as that obtained here is not easily measured in terms of “the amount involved,” which suggests a monetary figure. Nevertheless this court can quantify certain extraordinary results. In 1985, minorities comprised only 14.6% of the city’s firefighting force. As of August 8, 1990 minority composition stood at 24%. In a department which hired no women before 1985 there are now 36, comprising 2.6% of the force. One of the women is a lieutenant. Minority men have registered even broader gains in the officer ranks. In a fire department that had no minority members in the ranks of lieutenant or above in 1985, there are presently 54 lieutenants, eight captains, five battalion chiefs, one assistant chief and one assistant deputy chief II. Yet the greatest value, in terms of increased respect for local government and heightened pride in the affected communities, is immeasurable. 7. The Experience, Reputation and Ability of the Attorneys. Each of the attorneys for plaintiff-inter-venors submitted resumes detailing their ability to competently handle this case. Those submissions demonstrate the high level of experience, ability and reputation enjoyed by the fee applicants. a. Mary Dunlap Ms. Dunlap, co-counsel representing one of the subclasses of women, received her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall in 1971, and has been a member of the California Bar since 1972. She is a co-founder of Equal Rights Advocates (“ERA”), a public interest law firm dedicated to ending discrimination against women. Over the course of her career she has litigated forty-three individual and 10 class action employment discrimination cases. Ms. Dunlap has written and lectured widely on sex-based discrimination, and lectures frequently at area law schools, b. Russell Galloway Mr. Galloway, co-counsel specializing in test validity issues, graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University School of Law in 1965 and was admitted to the California Bar in 1969. He spent seven years as a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Alameda County, working primarily in employment discrimination and affirmative action litigation. A partial list of his litigation experience covers 19 federal cases including trial and appellate work, primarily regarding employment discrimination against classes and individuals. Mr. Galloway is now a tenured professor of law at the University of Santa Clara. He continues to work on Title VII eases and has published dozens of articles on employment discrimination and other legal areas in law reviews and other periodicals. He was recruited as part of the litigation team because of his extensive Title VII experience and his particular expertise in testing issues. c.Denise Hulett Ms. Hulett, a staff attorney at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (“MALDEF”), is counsel for the Hispanic class members. She graduated from King Hall School of Law, University of California, Davis in 1985 and was admitted that year to the California Bar. She began her practice with the firm of Rosen & Phillips, where she participated in a successful prisoner constitutional rights class action case. As a MALDEF attorney, Ms. Hulett is currently litigating four employment discrimination class action suits in addition to the instant case. d.Edwin Lee Mr. Lee, co-counsel representing Asians in the case, received his law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley in 1978 and was admitted to the bar in 1979. During work on this litigation, he was managing attorney of the San Francisco office of the Asian Law Caucus, a public interest law firm engaged in protecting the legal rights of Asians. Mr. Lee’s work for the Caucus focused primarily on cases of discrimination in housing and employment. Notable cases and issues in which Mr. Lee has been active include work on the San Francisco Minority and Business Enterprise Ordinance and the Chinatown Residential Hotel Demolition Moratorium. e.William McNeill Mr. McNeill served as lead counsel for the plaintiff-intervenors' team for half of the substantive litigation period. He also represented the Black Firefighters Association throughout the proceedings. Mr. McNeill graduated from the University of Michigan in 1971. He is a member of the Bars of Massachusetts, Georgia and California. He has specialized in employment discrimination since 1973 when he became a staff attorney at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Regional Litigation Center in Atlanta, Georgia. He was Director of the Title VII Project in San Francisco for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law from 1974 to 1976. In 1976 Mr. McNeill became a Regional Counsel for California Rural Legal Assistance, a position in which he remained until going into private practice in 1982. In private practice he continued to litigate employment discrimination cases. Presently, he is a staff attorney for the Employment Law Center, a public interest law firm in San Francisco. f.Shauna Marshall Shauna Marshall, a staff attorney at Equal Rights Advocates, represented the interests of a subclass of women in this litigation. She graduated from the University of California, Davis in 1979 and was admitted to the California Bar that same year.' Until 1984 she was a trial attorney in the United States Justice Department Honors Program, working in the San Francisco Field Office of the Anti-trust Division. Since 1984 she has been a staff attorney at ERA, working primarily on women’s employment rights. Her successful cases have included remedying wage and hour violations in the garment industry and obtaining a large settlement in a police department sexual harassment case. She is currently on the Child Care Law Center’s Board of Directors and was formerly on the board of Berkeley Neighborhood Legal Services. g.Eva Jefferson Paterson Ms. Paterson served as lead counsel for plaintiff-intervenors’ litigation team for half of this case’s history. She also represented the Black Firefighters Association on behalf of the San Francisco Lawyers’ Committee for Urban Affairs (“Lawyers’ Committee”), of which she is now Executive Director. Ms. Paterson received her law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley in 1975 and was admitted to the Bars of California and the Federal Court for the Northern District of California in that year. She is also admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. Ms. Paterson’s legal career has focused exclusively on civil rights law. She practiced as a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Alameda County from 1975 to 1977. From 1977 until her recent selection as Executive Director, she was the Assistant Director at the Lawyers’ Committee. She has also lectured on civil rights and litigation strategy as an adjunct professor of law at Hastings College of the Law, University of California, from 1980-1983. Her litigation experience includes numerous successful Title VII suits. The community and professional awards received by Ms. Paterson include the Black Leadership Forum’s 1988 Woman of the Year Award, the National ACLU Certificate of Appreciation, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund 1988 Legal Award. 8.The Nature and Length of the Relationship. This factor was explained in Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express, 488 F.2d 714, 719 (5th Cir.1974), abrogated by Blanchard v. Bergeron, 489 U.S. 87, 109 S.Ct. 939, 103 L.Ed.2d 67 (1989), as follows: “A lawyer in private practice may vary his fee for similar work in the light of the professional relationship of the client with his office.” In this action the factor is inapplicable. The very nature of this type of case tends to indicate that an ongoing professional relationship is unlikely. Most counsel are employed by public interest firms. The few who are in private practice, or were at the time of performing work on this case, do not have a professional relationship with any of the plaintiffs or class members apart from this case. Therefore, this factor is not included ■ in calculating the lodestar. 9. The Customary Fee in the Community for Similar Work and Awards in Similar Cases. To aid the court in ascertaining the customary fee and awards in similar cases, counsel for both the City and plaintiff-inter-venors have submitted declarations, deposition testimony and case law. Plaintiff-in-tervenors particularly refer the court to its Supplemental Fee Order of August 31, 1988 and the declarations filed in conjunction with it. In the Supplemental Order this court found that counsels’ requested rates were “well within the rates prevailing in the Bay Area for attorneys of like skill, experience and reputation working on litigation of similar subject and complexity.” Supp. Order Awarding Attorneys’ Fees at 10. That finding was based primarily on declarations by Guy Saperstein, Jack Lon-den and James Hunt. The applicants have now re-submitted those declarations, by reference, and supplemented them with declarations from similar cases. The combined weight of their evidence establishes that the applicants’ rates are, as in their earlier application, well within the range of rates charged in the San Francisco Bay area for similar work. The 1988 billing rates they seek are from $110 per hour for 1985 graduates to $235 per hour for 1969 graduates. For paralegals they seek $70 per hour. By comparison, Mr. Saperstein, a prominent Title VII class action attorney, declared that attorneys at his firm with experience comparable to applicants would bill at 1988 hourly rates ranging from $110 for 1986 law school graduates to $250 for 1969 graduates. Paralegals at his firm would bill at $50 to $85 per hour. Saperstein Decl. at 4:18-5:2. Mr. Hunt asserts that attorneys at his firm with experience comparable to that of applicants would bill at 1988 hourly rates ranging from $150 for 1985 graduates to $230 for 1971 graduates. Hunt Decl. at 2:17-21. Mr. Steven Mayer, in a declaration filed in a sex discrimination case in this district, stated that attorneys at his firm with experience comparable to applicants would bill at 1988 hourly rates ranging from $155 for 1984 graduates to $195-$205 for 1980 graduates. Law clerks’ 1988 hourly rates were $75. Mayer Decl. at 2:17-19. The case law provides further support for the conclusion that the applicants’ requested rates are within community norms. Aside from this court’s Supplemental Fee Order, other cases include: San Francisco Police Officers’ Association v. City and County of San Francisco, No. 85-2180 (9th Cir. Sept. 6, 1989) (attorneys’ fees ranging from $140 to $190 per hour); Herrington v. County of Sonoma, 883 F.2d 739, 746 (9th Cir.1989) ($200 per hour for senior partner; $150 per hour for senior associate; $80 per hour for junior associate, and $45-$50 per hour for paralegals); Cabrales v. County of Los Angeles, 875 F.2d 740 (9th Cir.1989) (rates of $175-$225 per hour). But see Bernardi v. Yeutter, C 73-1110 SC (N.D.Cal. Jan. 5, 1990) (rates of $105-$145 per hour; $50 per hour for law clerks). B. The City’s Contentions Regarding a Reduced Rate The City advances several arguments against an award of fees at the requested rates. First, it argues that the rates are premium rates, rather than prevailing rates. Second, it argues that the rates are excessive because four attorneys seek rates normally charged only by lead counsel. Third, it argues that the rates are beyond those normally charged for many of the tasks in the litigation. Fourth, it argues that the rates are in excess of the fee applicants’ own normal hourly rates. Fifth, it argues that the fee applicants have not established any right to compensation for law student time. The court will address each of these issues in turn. 1. Whether Premium Rates are Being Charged. The City first argues that the rates sought by the applicants here are premium rates, charged only by a handful of firms in the area. It contends that the average 1988 rates for attorneys with experience similar to that of Dunlap, Galloway, McNeill and Paterson are from $130 to $134 per hour, with only ten percent billing above $175 per hour. The average rates for attorneys with experience similar to Marshall, Lee and Hulett are assertedly even lower. However, the support for the City’s argument is deficient. The apparent centerpiece of their attack, a survey by the legal consulting firm of Altman & Weil, is not representative of rates charged for complex litigation in the San Francisco area. Data was gathered nationwide and covered a broad number of practice areas, including insurance defense, which Mr. Weil admits has significantly lower billing rates than other areas. Weil Depo. at 10-12. In fact, Mr. Weil admits that the rates for complex federal litigation would be as much as $50 per hour higher than the survey’s reported averages. Weil Depo. at 12. The City further argues that the rate of Mr. Bailer, a federal employment discrimination litigator and one of the applicants’ declarants, should be virtually conclusive on the question of an hourly rate due to his eminent credentials and experience. However, Mr. Bailer’s rate is simply some evidence of the range of rates in the area. The City also mistakenly contends that public interest attorneys are not entitled to value their rates at the same level as corporate attorneys of equal caliber. EEOC v. Sage Realty Corp., 521 F.Supp. 263, 270 (S.D.N.Y.1981). However, Sage Realty is flatly contrary to Supreme Court precedent. The Court’s has made it clear that “the calculation of fee awards [may not] vary depending on whether plaintiff was represented by private counsel or by a nonprofit legal services organization.” Blum v. Stenson, 465 U.S. 886, 894, 104 S.Ct. 1541, 1546, 79 L.Ed.2d 891 (1984). Moreover, this court recognizes that fees for public interest legal work are set entirely by courts; no client is ever charged. For the court to be the instrument of bias against such laudable endeavors would be unconscionable. The court accords equal value to complex litigation of all types. 2. Whether Four Attorneys Seek Lead Counsel Rates. The City asserts that attorneys Dunlap, Galloway, McNeill and Paterson are all billing at rates which are normally only charged for time spent overseeing or leading a litigation team. Since only Galloway and Paterson acted as lead counsel, and each of them only half of the time, the City posits that the four counsels’ rates should be reduced accordingly. The court does not share the City’s view. Whether counsel is serving as lead counsel or not, a uniform rate is awardable. The City cites no case law to the contrary, and its vague reference to supporting declarations is offset by the deposition testimony of its own declarants. Barg Depo. at 15:15-16:15; Schulz Depo. at 38:4-39:5. 3.Whether Rates are Excessive for Certain Tasks. The City further maintains that, even if the applicants deserve their requested hourly rates in some instances, they should not be compensated at those rates for certain tasks that required less expertise. Instead, the City argues that court-awarded compensation should promote the use of the commercial law firm-type pyramidal staffing pattern, whereby most work is performed by junior attorneys or senior associates. See, e.g., Schulz Deck at 3, 6. While the City’s argument and the case law cited from other circuits have some force, in this circuit there is ample authority for awarding a single fee for all work done. See, e.g., Suzuki v. Yuen, 678 F.2d 761, 764 (9th Cir.1982) (one rate for research, discussion, drafting, proofreading and court appearances by counsel); Handgards, Inc. v. Ethicon, Inc., 552 F.Supp. 820, 823 (N.D.Cal.1982) (applying one rate to all tasks without delineating types of tasks performed), aff'd, 743 F.2d 1282 (9th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1190, 105 S.Ct. 963, 83 L.Ed.2d 968 (1985); Powell v. United States Dept. of Justice, 569 F.Supp. 1192, 1203 (N.D.Cal.1983) (flat rate for all tasks including review and organization of documents). In any event, as the fee applicants’ declarations and citations demonstrate, the efficacy of the pyramidal staffing pattern is a matter of some debate. Beasley Deck paras. 6-8; Moore Deck para. 4; Muehler v. Land O’Lakes, Inc., 617 F.Supp. 1370, 1379 (D.Minn.1985) (questioning wisdom of judicial involvement in staffing issues and noting efficiency of senior partners engaging in research); Laffey v. Northwest Airlines, 572 F.Supp. 354, 366 (D.D.C.1983) (noting efficiency of senior attorneys engaging in research, drafting, etc.), rev’d on other grounds, 746 F.2d 4 (D.C.Cir.1984), cert. denied, 472 U.S. 1021, 105 S.Ct. 3488, 87 L.Ed.2d 622 (1985). The court declines to award fees by task type and instead will grant a uniform rate for each attorney. 4.Whether Rates are Beyond Counsels’ Normal Fees. The City urges that this court limit awardable fees to the rates which the fee applicants normally bill for their work. The City claims that the pertinent rule in this circuit is substantially similar to that espoused in Laffey v. Northwest Airlines, 746 F.2d 4, 24-25 (D.C.Cir.1984), cert. denied, 472 U.S. 1021, 105 S.Ct. 3488, 87 L.Ed.2d 622 (1985). The Laffey court ruled that the historical rate of fee applicants is the proper figure for an award, so long as it is within the range of rates within the relevant legal community. However, the rule in this circuit is markedly different: This Circuit does not follow the legal standard set forth in Laffey. “While evidence of counsel’s customary hourly rate may be considered by the District Court, it is not a [sic] abuse of discretion in this type of case to use the reasonable community standard that was employed here.” Maldonado v. Lehman, 811 F.2d 1341, 1342 (9th Cir.) (quoting White v. City of Richmond, 713 F.2d 458 (9th Cir.1983)), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 990, 108 S.Ct. 480, 98 L.Ed.2d 509 (1987). Furthermore, the D.C. Circuit has expressly overruled Laffey, holding that the prevailing market rates must be used to determine fees under the fee-shifting statutes. Save Our Cumberland Mountains, Inc. v. Hodel, 857 F.2d 1516, 1524 (D.C.Cir.1988). 5.Whether Law Student Time is Compensable. Finally, the City asserts that the applicants have not established the right to corn-pensation for law student time. That contention ignores the court’s Supplemental Fee Order which included an award for such time and wherein this court encouraged use of law students to reduce more costly attorney hours. Supplemental Order Awarding Attorneys’ Fees at 9. The City’s position also is at odds with recent Supreme Court precedent. Missouri v. Jenkins, 491 U.S. 274, 109 S.Ct. 2463, 105 L.Ed.2d 229 (1989) (recognizing right to compensation for law student time). Furthermore, the declarations provided by counsel establish that the $70 hourly rate sought is within the community standard. See Saperstein, Hunt and Mayer Decís., supra p. 34. Having considered all relevant Kerr factors and the arguments of counsel, the court finds that the rates requested by applicants are reasonable. The lodestar amount for all attorneys and paralegals is set forth in the accompanying Appendix. III. Enhancement of the Lodestar A strong presumption exists that the lodestar figure is the reasonable fee and it is only in rare cases that figure will be adjusted. Jordan v. Multnomah County, 815 F.2d 1258, 1262 (9th Cir.1987); Clark v. City of Los Angeles, 803 F.2d 987, 991 (9th Cir.1986). Where an upward adjustment is made, it must be “supported by specific evidence on the record and detailed findings by the district court.” Jordan, 815 F.2d at 1262. For fee enhancement to occur, two prerequisites must be met: First, the fee applicant must establish that “without an adjustment for risk the prevailing party ‘would have faced substantial difficulties in finding counsel in the local or other relevant market.’ ” Second, any enhancement for contingency must reflect “the difference in market treatment of contingent fee cases as a class, rather than ... the ‘riskiness’ of any particular case.” Fadhl v. City and County of San Francisco, 859 F.2d 649, 650 (9th Cir.1988) (“Fadhl II”) (quoting Pennsylvania v. Delaware Valley Citizens’ Council for Clean Air, 483 U.S. 711, 733, 731, 107 S.Ct. 3078, 3090, 3089, 97 L.Ed.2d 585 (1987) (“Delaware Valley II") (O’Connor, J., concurring) (emphasis in original)). A. Difficulty in Finding Counsel Robert Demmons, one of the individual plaintiffs-in-intervention and president of the San Francisco Black Firefighters Association, itself an organizational plaintiff-in-intervention, submitted a declaration attesting that he had contacted at least twenty-five attorneys prior to obtaining counsel. Demmons Decl. para. 3. According