802
Opinion of the Court
"[i]deally, . . . litigants will settle the amount of a fee." 461 U. S., at 437.11 But where settlement between the parties is not possible, "[t]he most useful starting point for [court determination of] the amount of a reasonable fee [payable by the loser] is the number of hours reasonably expended on the litigation multiplied by a reasonable hourly rate." Id., at 433. Thus, the lodestar method today holds sway in federal-court adjudication of disputes over the amount of fees properly shifted to the loser in the litigation. See id., at 440 (Burger, C. J., concurring) (decision addresses statute under which "a lawyer seeks to have his adversary pay the fees of the prevailing party").
Fees shifted to the losing party, however, are not at issue here. Unlike 42 U. S. C. § 1988 (1994 ed. and Supp. V) and EAJA, 42 U. S. C. § 406(b) (1994 ed., Supp. V) does not authorize the prevailing party to recover fees from the losing party. Section 406(b) is of another genre: It authorizes fees payable from the successful party's recovery. Several statutes governing suits against the United States similarly provide that fees may be paid from the plaintiff's recovery. See, e. g., Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U. S. C. § 2678 ("No attorney shall charge, demand, receive, or collect for services rendered, fees in excess of 25 per centum of any [court] judgment rendered [in an FTCA suit], or in excess of 20 per centum of any award, compromise, or settlement made [by a federal agency to settle an FTCA claim]."); Veterans' Benefits Act, 38 U. S. C. § 5904(d)(1) (1994 ed.) ("When a claimant [for veterans' benefits] and an attorney have entered into a [contingent-]fee agreement [under which fees are paid by withholding from the claimant's benefits award], the total fee payable to the attorney may not exceed 20 percent of the total amount of any past-due benefits awarded
11 See also, e. g., 31 U. S. C. § 3554(c)(4) (1994 ed.) ("[T]he Federal agency and the interested party shall attempt to reach an agreement on the amount of the costs [including attorneys' fees] to be paid.").
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