Biglaw billing rates are closely monitored by legal departments. Freshly recovered from Biglaw associates billing at $1,000/hr., Biglaw billing rates for partners are scheduled to surpass $3,000/hr. in 2025. All of this while GC and CLO compensation packages dropped for the first time in a survey’s history. The rate inflation seen at Biglaw firms is so great that even insurers and higher education institutions, perennial favorites in the price inflation race, are exclaiming “Our increases are so reasonable, just look at what lawyers are charging these days……”. The adage that “what goes up must come down” does not appear to apply to colleagues in private practice. Perhaps in-house legal departments’ use of AI will decrease their need for Biglaw in the long run and, if it doesn’t, billing rates will continue into the stratosphere for the foreseeable future.
“Billing rates for some of the nation’s highest-grossing law firms are expected to continue an upward climb next year. Some senior partners are expected to bill nearly $3,000 per hour, and a few might top that amount, Law.com reports in a story citing data by Valeo Partners, which analyzes public disclosure documents to discern upcoming rate changes. Currently, nine firms have standard hourly rates for senior partners that range from about $2,400 to $2,875, according to Chuck Chandler, the CEO of Valeo Partners. Seventeen others will be in that range by 2025, he told Law.com.”
Read: Some top partners in BigLaw will bill nearly $3,000 per hour next year, data says at ABA Journal