Worked example: attorney fee calculations in North Carolina
6 min read
Published April 15, 2026 • By DocketMath Team
Example inputs
Below is a worked example of how DocketMath’s “attorney-fee” calculator looks when you run an attorney-fee scenario in North Carolina (US-NC). This walkthrough is for illustration only—fee outcomes depend on the specific claim, the fee-shifting language involved, and how a court applies relevant rules. Use it to understand how the calculator is structured, not to predict the result of a real case.
If you want to follow along in the tool, here’s the primary call-to-action: /tools/attorney-fee.
Scenario overview (North Carolina)
Assume you’re evaluating a fee request where the claimant seeks to recover attorney’s fees as part of a dispute. Because your question is about how the calculation is organized, this example focuses on the mechanics and the time window used by the calculator, not on whether fees are recoverable in the underlying case.
Time/limitations framework (what this example assumes)
North Carolina’s general/default statute of limitations period is 3 years for this worked example. You also provided a reference pointing to the North Carolina Department of Justice’s SAFE Child Act information:
https://www.ncdoj.gov/public-protection/supporting-victims-and-survivors-of-sexual-assault/
Important note (based on your brief): No claim-type-specific sub-rule was found for this scenario. That means the calculator uses the general/default SOL period of 3 years as the governing time window in this example, rather than a shorter/longer claim-specific limitations period.
Inputs used in this worked example
These are the inputs you’d enter in DocketMath’s attorney-fee flow. Values are deliberately round to make the arithmetic easy to follow.
| Input | Example value | What it represents |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly rate | $350 | Blended hourly rate across counsel |
| Hours worked (within SOL window) | 120 | Attorney time that the fee request attributes to compensable work in the relevant period |
| Filing date | 2024-02-01 | Date the action is filed (used to determine what work falls inside the lookback window logic) |
| Event date | 2021-11-15 | Date the underlying actionable event occurred (anchors the lookback window) |
| Success factor | 0.60 | Multiplier reflecting partial success (set to 1.00 if you don’t want a success adjustment) |
| Costs to include | $0 | Out-of-pocket costs (set to zero here to isolate attorney fees) |
Time window used
Because this example is using North Carolina’s general/default SOL period of 3 years, the calculator applies a 3-year lookback measured from the “event date” to determine the relevant window for compensable attorney work.
- Event date: 2021-11-15
- Filing date: 2024-02-01
- Lookback window: through 3 years from the event date, i.e., 2021-11-15 up to 2024-11-15
Since the filing date (2024-02-01) falls within that 3-year window, the example treats the provided “hours worked within SOL window” (120 hours) as eligible for the calculation stage shown here.
If your event date is earlier such that the relevant work falls outside the general 3-year lookback, the output would typically reflect fewer (or zero) eligible hours depending on how the tool is configured.
Example run
Step 1: Compute base attorney fees (before success adjustment)
Base fee = hourly rate × hours
- Hourly rate: $350
- Hours: 120
Base fee = $350 × 120 = $42,000
Step 2: Apply the success factor (illustrative)
This example uses a multiplier approach to represent partial success or reasonableness adjustments. In DocketMath’s attorney-fee calculator workflow, that’s modeled as a success factor.
- Success factor: 0.60
Adjusted attorney fees = $42,000 × 0.60 = $25,200
Step 3: Add costs (if any)
This example uses $0 costs.
Total requested = $25,200 + $0 = $25,200
Output summary (what the tool would show)
| Output component | Result |
|---|---|
| Base attorney fees | $42,000 |
| Adjusted attorney fees (success factor 0.60) | $25,200 |
| Costs | $0 |
| Total attorney-fee request (illustration) | $25,200 |
To connect this back to North Carolina’s framework used by the tool: the time eligibility logic in this example is anchored to the general/default 3-year SOL period, since no claim-type-specific sub-rule was identified in the provided brief.
Sensitivity check
A worked example is most helpful when you can see how outputs change as inputs shift. Below are three targeted sensitivity checks—each changes one input while holding the rest constant.
Sensitivity 1: Hours worked in the SOL window
Keep:
- Hourly rate = $350
- Success factor = 0.60
- Costs = $0
Change hours:
| Hours within SOL window | Base fee ($350×hours) | Adjusted fee (×0.60) |
|---|---|---|
| 80 | $28,000 | $16,800 |
| 120 (base case) | $42,000 | $25,200 |
| 160 | $56,000 | $33,600 |
Takeaway: In this model, the adjusted fee scales linearly with eligible hours. A 33% increase in hours (80 → 120) produces a proportional increase in the adjusted fee ($16,800 → $25,200).
Sensitivity 2: Success factor (partial success adjustment)
Keep:
- Hourly rate = $350
- Hours = 120
- Costs = $0
| Success factor | Adjusted fee ($42,000×factor) |
|---|---|
| 0.40 | $16,800 |
| 0.60 (base case) | $25,200 |
| 0.80 | $33,600 |
Takeaway: Small changes in the success factor can meaningfully shift the total. This is why it’s useful to run multiple scenarios when the success/adjustment assumption is uncertain.
Pitfall to avoid: “Hours worked” is not the same as “hours eligible.” Even if counsel billed a larger number, the tool’s output depends on what you enter as hours within the relevant SOL window and how the tool treats eligibility.
Sensitivity 3: Event date beyond the general 3-year window
Keep:
- Hourly rate = $350
- Success factor = 0.60
- Costs = $0
- Assume that when the event date moves outside the general 3-year lookback window, eligible hours drop
Example change:
- Move event date from 2021-11-15 to 2020-10-01
- Filing date stays 2024-02-01
Illustrative result (eligible hours reduced from 120 to 40):
- Base fee = $350 × 40 = $14,000
- Adjusted fee = $14,000 × 0.60 = $8,400
Takeaway: The time-window eligibility logic can dominate the outcome. Even with the same hourly rate and success factor, moving the event outside the general 3-year lookback used here can sharply reduce eligible hours.