New research has revealed that some partners at the world’s top law firms are charging nearly £2,000 per hour to their clients. Associates in high-value practice areas are also not far behind, with rates increasing significantly.
According to LexisNexis, top partners can charge clients over $2,300 (over £1,700) per hour, with the average partner hourly rate in the largest firms increasing by 7.5% from 2024. Associate rates have seen an even steeper increase, jumping by 11% on average at the largest firms, with some firms now charging clients $2,000 (almost £1,500) for each hour of their top senior associates’ time.
This figure represents what clients are charged per hour for the lawyers’ time, not the amount the lawyers take home. Despite this, partners are extremely well-remunerated, with profit-per-equity partner (PEP) reaching over £6 million at Kirkland & Ellis, as reported by Legal Cheek’s Most List. The Magic Circle’s PEP is led by A&O Shearman, at over £2 million. Associates start on salaries as high as £180,000 at firms like Davis Polk & Wardwell, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, and Paul Weiss.
The data comes from the LexisNexis 2025 CounselLink Trends Report, which tracks legal spending across more than 1.8 million matters and $67 billion (£50 billion) in billings. The hourly rates vary across practice areas, with M&A, regulatory, and finance matters leading the way.
The report, which largely draws on US firms, confirms that legal fees in high-value practices continue to soar, with large law firms now controlling almost half of all legal spend in the US market. Hourly rates have increased approximately 5% each year since 2022, with partners at large firms (over 750 lawyers) billing a median rate of $1,050 (£784) per hour.
Practice areas with the lowest fees, though still high, include real estate, employment, environmental matters, litigation, and insurance. This research comes as law firms are beginning to announce financials. Latham & Watkins, Reed Smith, and Kirkland recently announced their results, with Kirkland’s 2024 revenues soaring to almost £7 billion, while Reed Smith and Latham also enjoyed healthy growth.
