ROH §2-26.7
How the City Pays Private Lawyers and When Rates Drop
Read the official text at honolulu.gov ↗The city pays private lawyers the hourly rates written in their contract. But if the total fees billed (not counting court costs and out-of-pocket expenses) go above certain amounts, the hourly rate is cut by a set percentage for the part over that amount. The cuts get bigger as the fees get higher.
attorneysstate agencies
The ordinance, as written (Honolulu County) — Control of fees - Reduction in hourly rates
A copy, taken August 22, 2026. The version published by Honolulu is the one that governs, and it may have changed since. Check it before relying on anything here.
Reasonable fees billed to the city by private attorneys shall be paid at the rates specified in the written contract; except, where the fees billed, exclusive of court costs and out-of-pocket expenses, exceed the following amounts, the hourly rates payable to each attorney or category of attorneys specified in the written contract referred to in § 2-26.3 and any special hourly rates specified in the contract shall be reduced by the following percentages and applied to fees billed in excess of the threshold amounts:
(1) Where fees billed exceed $100,000, the hourly rates shall be reduced by 5 percent;
(2) Where fees billed exceed $300,000, the hourly rates shall be reduced by 10 percent;
(3) Where fees billed exceed $500,000, the hourly rates shall be reduced by 20 percent;
(4) Where fees billed exceed $750,000, the hourly rates shall be reduced by 25 percent; and
(5) Where fees billed exceed $1,000,000, the hourly rates shall be reduced by 30 percent.
Published by the City and County of Honolulu through American Legal Publishing.
LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.