Law firms in the first half of 2024 pushed through the highest billing rate increases in recent years, legal industry analysts say, as the most elite law firms capitalized on the reality that legal departments were going to hire them for make-or-break matters almost regardless of cost.

Average standard billing rates rose 8.8% in the first six months, according to the Wells Fargo Legal Specialty Group. The Am Law 50 hiked rates 10%, while the Second 50 and Second 100 increased them 7%.