Top Lawyers’ Fees Have Skyrocketed. Be Prepared to Pay $3,400 an Hour.

Legal fees at top U.S. law firms have hit record highs, with some senior partners now billing $3,400 an hour — a figure that would have been unthinkable just years ago. According to data from PERSUIT, the legal spend management platform used by in-house legal teams to analyze outside counsel bills, partner rates at the top 50 firms rose 16% on average last year. PERSUIT CEO Jim Delkousis warned that for routine work, traditional rate hikes "don't just look expensive, they look illogical" — as AI enables companies to bring more standard legal tasks in-house, squeezing firm revenues from the bottom up.

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