NJ Hourly Rates Near the Top Nationwide, Report Finds
New Jersey trails only a handful of markets when it comes to average hourly billing rates for law firms, a recent report has found.
October 11, 2017 at 10:55 AM
3 minute read
New Jersey trails only a handful of markets when it comes to average hourly billing rates for law firms, a recent report has found.
The state's $272 average hourly rate for 2016, which takes into account both lawyer and nonlawyer rates, ranks sixth in the nation, behind New York ($297), Connecticut ($296), the District of Columbia ($292), Nevada ($285) and California ($277), according to the “2017 Legal Trends Report” issued by Clio, a Canadian cloud-based researcher that tracks legal industry metrics.
New Jersey's $272 average combined rate placed it ahead of markets such as Illinois ($261), Maryland ($257) and Pennsylvania ($243), the report stated.
New Jersey also was sixth in lawyer hourly rates, at $288, again behind the same five markets, which all topped $300 per hour.
The average nonlawyer billing rate for New Jersey was $199 — second only to Connecticut, whose $228 rate was highest by far. New Jersey's average nonlawyer rate put it firmly ahead of Nebraska ($175) and Nevada ($174), as well as Pennsylvania and New York (each $171), according to the report.
“Real” hourly billing rates, which are adjusted for cost of living in 2016, also are included: In New Jersey, that rate is $251 for lawyers, $174 for nonlawyers and $237 combined. The latter number trails the same five markets mentioned above, as well as Florida, Illinois, Texas, Georgia, Arizona and Pennsylvania.
The data was collected from some 60,000 Clio users, as well as surveys of legal professionals and consumers of legal services, the report notes.
The report is critical of law firms for what it calls poor “utilization” rates—contending that lawyers on average nationwide spend only 2.3 hours of the eight-hour workday on billable tasks. It pegs the utilization rate in New Jersey at 30 percent, which is one point higher than the national rate of 29 percent (meaning that a New Jersey lawyer spends 2.4 hours per day on billables, rather than 2.3 hours). The report ranks lawyers in West Virginia and Maine at the top in this category, with realization rates of about 40 percent.
New Jersey is toward the back of the pack when it comes to realization rates, the report finds: At 79 percent, the state ranks 34th and is well behind Utah, South Dakota, South Carolina, Wyoming and New Hampshire, which approach or eclipse 90 percent, but still ahead of such large markets as New York (39th), Florida (43rd), Delaware (46th) and D.C. (48th), according to the report.
New Jersey also fares badly in collection rate, according to the report. At 82 percent, it was ahead of only six markets in that category: Arizona, New York, West Virginia, D.C., Mississippi and Michigan.
Contact the reporter at [email protected]. On Twitter: @dgialanellanjlj.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Election Law Spending Is on the Rise, but Big Firms Have Reasons Not to Cash In
6 minute read
Troutman Pepper Accused of Inattentive Case Management in $59M Malpractice Suit
7 minute read
Trending Stories
- 1How We Won: Samsung Defeats Data Breach Class Action
- 2With Florida’s Lateral Hiring Remaining Steady in 2024, Here’s the Top Hires Throughout the State
- 3Capital Markets Partner Rejoins O’Melveny Ahead of Expected Uptick in Demand
- 4Pharma Company Faces Breach-of-Contract Claim Over $1.3 Million in Unpaid Invoices
- 5KPMG Law Seeks Alternative Business License, Shaking Up Legal Status Quo
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
