When things get tough, some companies simply aren’t willing to skimp on legal services, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article. As law firms across the nation have struggled over the past couple of years to create new billing structures and appease their recession-wary clients, some of the country’s leading attorneys have been charging $1,000 an hour or more.
Data from the Hildebrandt Baker Robbins consulting firm show that the average law-firm partner asks $635 an hour and bills $575. A select few, however, particularly in finance-related practices such as M&A, bankruptcy law and taxes, bill much more than their peers in other specialties. The partners in this so-called “1,000-Plus-An-Hour Club” bill anywhere from $1,000 to $1,250 an hour.
“We’ll keep paying them a lot of money, because they’re worth that,” says Janine Dascenzo, associate general counsel of General Electric Co., about the company’s willingness to pay top dollar when it needs a lawyer with unique expertise.
For the law firms, financing their star attorneys’ four-figure rates means reaping as much profit from their junior associates, which can then cause tensions with clients unwilling to pay for a dozen associates to work on a single case. But as the economy continues its slow recovery and lawyers explore alternatives to hourly billing, some experts believe top attorneys will continue to increase their rates and, in just five to seven years, a select few might even join the “$2,000-An-Hour Club”.
