Senior Partners Approach $3,000 an Hour, As More Billing Rate Hikes Expected in 2025
About 16 Am Law 50 firms have third-year associates with rates over $1,000, but Valeo Partners project around half of the Am Law 50 to have rates of over $1,000 for this group of lawyers by 2025.
September 24, 2024 at 04:19 PM
5 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The American Lawyer
What You Need to Know
- More big firms are going to approach hourly rates of $3,000 for partners and $1,000 for associates, according to new data from Valeo Partners.
- Am Law 25 to 30 firms will have standard rate increases of 10% to 13% in the new year, per the data.
- An increase in M&A activity, fierce competition for lateral partners and firm mergers are helping to push up rates, observers say.
Some Am Law 50 firms will increase billing rates substantially in 2025, with expectations that some senior partners will approach $3,000 an hour and more associates will bill over $1,000 an hour.
More demand in M&A and transactional practices, as well as law firm mergers and increasing demand to pay top-performing talent, are pushing billing rates higher, some observers say.
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