#Eye for an eye court show professional

Still, the hourly rate shows just how valuable the most prestigious lawyersвЂ™ time can be-even compared to their highly compensated competitors. Vinaccia said the firmвЂ™s options will be to reduce its fee, withdraw from the case, or argue the levy is reasonable, most likely based on KatyalвЂ™s extensive experience arguing appeals. Hogan Lovells did not respond to a request for comment on the objection. The trustee, who protects the financial interests of bankruptcy estates, argued KatyalвЂ™s fee was more than $1,000 an hour higher than rates charged by lawyers in the same case at Jones Day and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.ДЄ hearing on the trusteeвЂ™s objection is scheduled for next week. That happened recently with Hogan LovellsвЂ™ Katyal, whose nearly $2,500 an hour fee was contested in May by a US trustee overseeing a bankruptcy case involving a Johnson & Johnson unit facing claims its talc-based powders caused cancer. LawyersвЂ™ fees are usually only contested when they will be paid by a third party. But that doesnвЂ™t preclude clients from paying any price they perceive as valuable, said Jacqueline Vinaccia, a San Diego-based lawyer who testifies on lawyer fee disputes.

#Eye for an eye court show professional

Professional rules prohibit lawyers from charging вЂњunconscionableвЂќ or вЂњunreasonableвЂќ rates. Collection rates last year breached 90% for the first time since 2009, Peer Monitor data show. The portion of bills law firms collected-a sign of how willingly clients pay full-freight-rose during the previous two years after drifting lower following the Great Financial Crisis. Firms with leading practices in markets such as mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, and real estate were forced to turn away work at some points during the pandemic-fueled surge.ДЇirms receive relatively tepid pushback from their giant corporate clients, especially when advising on bet-the-company litigation or billion-dollar deals. The highest-performing firms, where lawyers charge the highest prices, have outperformed their smaller peers. Fourteen law firms reported average profits per equity partner in 2021 over $5 million, according to data from The American Lawyer. The price hikes occurred during a once-in-a-decade surge in demand for law services, which propelled profits at firms to new levels. Neither level had been breached since 2008. The rates surged more than 6% in 2020 and grew another 5.6% through November of last year. The 100 largest law firms in the past two years achieved their largest rate increases in more than a decade, Peer Monitor says. US inflation rose by about 28% during that time. Law firm rates rose by roughly 40 percent from 2007 to 2020, or just short of 3 percent per year, Thomson Reuters Peer Monitor data show. Law firms have been more successful raising rates than most other businesses over the past 15 years. None of the other firms responded to requests to comment. Kirkland & Ellis declined to comment on its billing rates. вЂњThe perceived value of a good lawyer can reach into the multi-billions of dollars.вЂќ вЂњValue is in the eye of the beholder,вЂќ said John OвЂ™Connor, a San Francisco-based expert on legal fees. Reuters was first to report their fees.Д®ye-watering rates are nothing new for Big Law firms, which typically ask clients to pay higher prices at least once a year, regardless of broader market conditions. Want to hire famous litigator David Boies? ThatвЂ™ll cost $1,950 an hour (at least). In need of a former acting US Solicitor General? Hogan Lovells partner Neal Katyal bills time at $2,465 an hour. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett litigator Bryce Friedman, who helps big-name clients out of jams, especially when theyвЂ™re accused of fraud, charges $1,965 every 60 minutes, according to a court document. They include Kirkland & Ellis, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Boies Schiller Flexner, and Sidley Austin. Other firms came close to the mark, billing more than $1,900, according to the documents. Partners at Hogan Lovells and Latham & Watkins have crossed the threshold, according to court documents in bankruptcy cases filed within the past year. Some of the nationвЂ™s top law firms are charging more than $2,000 an hour, setting a new pinnacle after a two-year burst in demand.

Programming note: Big Law Business will be off next week. Sign up to receive this column in your inbox on Thursday mornings.

Today, we look at a new threshold for lawyersвЂ™ billing rates and why itвЂ™s so difficult to put a price on high-powered attorneys. Welcome back to the Big Law Business column on the changing legal marketplace written by me, Roy Strom.