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NLJ Billing Survey: Billing Rates Are Rising at Large Firms

According to the National Law Journal’s report of their annual billing survey (2007 NLJ Billing Survey), average attorney billing rates “shot up” by 7.7% over the previous year. This year, the average billing rate for large firms (over 170 lawyers) was $348.

In comparison, the ALM Research survey of billing rates among solos and lawyers at small and midsize firms found that the average billing rate nationwide was $240, with the average rate for solos at $221; for small firm lawyers (2 to 39 attorneys), it was $245; and for midsize firm lawyers (40 to 170 attorneys), it was $282. Both billing surveys confirm conventional wisdom that the bigger the firm, the higher the hourly billing rate.

Was the spike in billing rates in the last year at large firms, reported by the National Law Journal, an anomaly? A look at the average high and low partner rates since the inception of the NLJ Billing Survey shows another big spike in the mid-1990s, with average high partner billing rates rising over 20% between 1996 and 1999. And over the course of the 18 years that NLJ has been surveying large firms about their billing rates, the average high partner billing rate has risen 130%, and the average low partner billing rate has risen 96%.

At the same time, NLJ found that “the profession appeared to deepen its embrace of billing variations and alternatives”. Of the 47 large firms that reported on their alternative billing practices, 34% said that the percentage of revenue obtained from these practices had this year increased.

The NLJ Billing Survey has been conducted since 1989 (though not in 1995 and 1998), and all years’ data are available for purchase through ALM Research Online in spreadsheet format. Data includes high, low, and average rates for partners and associates at each participating firm. The 2007 survey report also includes associate class billing data from firms that establish rates based on associate class. Also included is the information about firm billing alternatives and variations, and average and median firmwide billing rates.

For more information about this searchable, sortable spreadsheet product, about the current years’ data or data from previous years, click on the links to the survey report in this article, or contact almresearch@alm.com, or call 888-770-5647 for more information.