35. A $2,500 Per Hour Rock-Star Partner Can Be A Blessing

Value is subjective — it’s what you’re willing to pay, and that in turn is driven by two variables: First, the nature of the client’s problem; and second, how effectively and efficiently the law firm can solve it. Sometimes it’s better to have one “rock-star” partner look at the problem for an hour at $2,500 and fix it, versus a team of associates at lower rates look at it for a week and fail to solve it.

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We all know how this goes: Law firm sends eye-watering bill to client, shocked client recoils and says never again, repeat. The Band Aid got ripped off this open sore again last week by Erin Mulvaney’s report in The Wall Street Journal, entitled “Rock-Star Law Firms Are Billing Up to $2,500 per Hour. Clients Are Indignant.”

The causes are now well understood, and neatly reprised in this latest report: The replacement of lockstep with merit-based comp, the talent wars, increased regulatory complexity and associated risk. Similarly, we’ve all seen the client push-backs, such as capped fees, guaranteed success bonuses, competitive tendering, the push for gen AI and of course, wherever possible, keeping the work in-house.

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35. A $2,500 Per Hour Rock-Star Partner Can Be A Blessing

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35. A $2,500 Per Hour Rock-Star Partner Can Be A Blessing

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