One thing is certain about Biglaw billable rates — they’re always going up. Despite that maximum, it’s still news in the industry. It was more than a decade ago that partner billing rates first hit $1,000/hour, but it wasn’t much longer before we hit the $2K mark. Now, according to data from Valeo Partners, we’ve approached the $3,000/hr line.
Thanks to the disclosures required in bankruptcy fee filings, Law.com was already able to suss out some of the firms nearing the $3K threshold.
Valeo Partners declined to name the firms. However, some recent bankruptcy fee packages reveal some firms are close to the $3,000 mark already. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich Rosati billed $2,720 an hour this year for top partners in the Rite-Aid bankruptcy. McDermott Will & Emery was charging top partners out at $2,590 hourly at the end of 2023 in the Mountain Express Oil Co. bankruptcy.
Overall, Valeo Partners estimates that, for the Am Law 50, senior partners billing rates will average $2,100 in 2024, with partners averaging $1,900/hour.
However, sky-high rates for the tippy top of the Biglaw food chain are pretty understandable. But that isn’t the only place Biglaw is increasing rates. Third-year associates… yup, those only three years removed from law school… are being billed out at a bunch of firms at over a cool grand.
For associates, rate increases will be more notable among third-years. Currently, 16 of the Am Law 50 firms have third-year associates with rates over $1,000, but Valeo projects around half of the Am Law 50 to have rates of over $1,000 amongst this group by 2025.
Billing rates for first-year associates are approaching $1,000 at a handful of firms, with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison charging a minimum of $895 for associates in 2024, bankruptcy records show. Sullivan & Cromwell charges nearly as much—$850 hourly—for first-years.
Sullivan & Cromwell and Paul Weiss also have among the top rates for senior associates, with associates maxing out at $1,575 at Sullivan & Cromwell and $1,560 at Paul Weiss.
And while that may give some sticker shock, once senior associates crossed into the four-figure billing rates, it was only a matter of time for junior rates to hit that benchmark. This will, seemingly inevitably, trigger the latest round of complaints over the high cost of top-notch legal talent. Of course, that might just be a ruse for markdown, since in-house counsels’ tolerance for big bills (from the right lawyer) only seems to be growing.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].