Study: Associates, Southern Cities Had Highest Increases in Billing Rates
Billing rates charged to large companies have increased at a faster pace for associates than for partners, according to a billing-rate study being released today.
Associate billing rates increased by 16.6 percent between 2007 and 2009, while partner rates rose 8.6 percent, according to a press release and the Am Law Daily.
Overall, rates rose 21 percent in Dallas, Atlanta, and Richmond, Va., during the two-year period, while rates in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles rose by only 14 percent, according to the report by CT TyMetrix and The Corporate Executive Board Company.
The study also found that legal bills increased at rates that exceeded inflation. Overall, an hour of legal time costs 65 percent more on average than it did 10 years ago, while the cost of most things that companies buy rose only by 40 percent during that period.
The report analyzed the bills of 36 large corporate clients from 2007 to 2009, amounting to more than $4 billion in law firm billings.
A preview of study findings released in May found that 78 percent of partners, associates and paralegals bill different hourly rates to different clients for similar work. The largest rate differences ranged from $350 to $1,000 an hour.
The study also found that law firm partners charged up to $1,590 an hour for work for major corporate clients in 2009, but the median partner rate was only $340 per hour.
