Attorney Fees
At White & Case, Top Lawyers Bill as Much as $1,260 an Hour
Posted Dec 8, 2008, 08:35 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Nearly 71 percent of large law firms surveyed hiked billing rates this year, with one firm charging rates of more than $1,200 an hour. The average partner rate, however, was considerably lower at $451 an hour at all law firms surveyed.
White & Case reported the highest billing rate—$1,260 an hour—for its top lawyers, the National Law Journal reports. Next highest were rates charged by Dorsey & Whitney, which bills $1,180 an hour for two of its international tax lawyers. The NLJ surveyed the nation’s top 250 law firms and received two years of rate information from 109 of them.
The average partner rate was $747 an hour at White & Case and $505 at Dorsey & Whitney. Rates for associates at White & Case were an average of $456 an hour, but reached as high as $920 an hour. At Dorsey & Whitney, associate rates averaged $301 an hour, but went as high as $820 an hour.
Law firms responding to the survey increased billing rates for both partners and associates by an average 4.3 percent this year, compared to an average hike last year of 7.7 percent, the story says.
More than half the law firms providing billing information said they also used different billing methods such as flat or discounted fees and blended hourly rates.
White & Case gave the National Law Journal a statement saying the high end of its billing rates was "representative of only two potential billing scenarios for clients" and "[did] not take into account a number of key factors, including blended rates and rates negotiated with specific clients."
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