NALFA recently released the results from our 2020 Litigation Hourly Rate Survey.  The results, published in The 2020 Litigation Hourly Rate Survey & Report, contains billing rate data on the very factors that correlate to hourly rates in litigation: geography, years of litigation experience, complexity of case, and litigation practice size.

This empirical survey and report provides macro and micro data of current hourly rate ranges for both defense and plaintiffs’ litigators, at various litigation experience levels, from large law firms to solo shops, in routine and complex litigation, and in the nation’s largest legal markets and beyond.  This is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive survey or study on hourly billing rates in litigation. 

Law firms with over 100 attorneys have higher rates across all litigation experience levels.  When compared to solo practitioners, law offices with 2-11 attorneys, and law firms with 12-99 attorneys, large law firms consistently have higher rates for litigators at all experience levels.  Almost half (49%) of litigators at large law firms bill at tier 2 rates ($401-$650).  While the percentages of litigators at smaller law firms and law offices who bill at tier 2 rates are lower.  "From our survey, the data analysis shows that associates at large law firms start with higher rates and raise them more frequently than litigators at small law firms and law offices," said Terry Jesse, Executive Director of NALFA.

The 2020 Litigation Hourly Rate Survey & Report is now available for purchase.  For more information on this survey, email NALFA Executive Director, Terry Jesse at terry@thenalfa.org or call us at (312) 907-7275.