Spiro
(Photo
by
Marlena
Sloss/Bloomberg
via
Getty
Images)
How
much
do
you
think
it
costs
to
hire
one
of
the
busiest,
most
“relentless”
Biglaw
partners
in
the
game?
If
you
guessed
$2,000
an
hour,
you’d
be
wrong.
You
need
to
go
even
higher
if
you
want
to
get
representation
from
a
lawyer
whose
clients
include
the
likes
of
Tesla
CEO
Elon
Musk
and
famed
actor
Alec
Baldwin.
If
you
can
pay
$3,000
an
hour,
you
can
get
Quinn
Emanuel’s
Alex
Spiro
on
your
legal
team.
According
to
Reuters,
a
small
group
of
lawyers
at
the
elite
Biglaw
firm
—
which
brought
in
$2,079,448,000
gross
revenue
in
2023,
putting
it
at
No.
18
on
the
Am
Law
100
—
are
now
charging
these
sky-high
rates,
including
global
co-managing
partner
William
Burck.
Here
are
some
additional
details
on
the
firm’s
billing
practices:
Quinn
Emanuel’s
$3,000
top
rate
marks
a
milestone
for
leading
U.S.
law
firms
as
lawyers’
hourly
fees
continue
to
soar.Law
firms
routinely
raise
their
rates
each
year,
and
top
rates
at
some
of
the
largest
U.S.
firms
have
pushed
past
$2,500
an
hour
or
higher
in
recent
years,
court records
show.Quinn
Emanuel
said
in
its
court
filings
that
its
partners
now
bill
between
$1,860
and
$3,000
an
hour.
It
said
it
will
charge
between
$1,775
and
$2,725
an
hour
for
“of
counsel”
attorneys
at
the
firm,
and
between
$1,035
and
$1,665
for
associates.
Biglaw
billing
rates
keep
climbing
higher
and
higher
for
the
most
in-demand
lawyers,
and
it
really
shows
at
Quinn
Emanuel,
where
the
firm’s
top
billable
rates
have
grown
by
nearly
34%
since
2022,
when
top
partners
topped
out
at
$2,130
an
hour.
Do
you
know
any
other
Biglaw
partners
who
are
able
to
command
$3,000
an
hour?
Please
text
us
(646-820-8477)
or email
us and
let
us
know
which
firm
they
work
for.
Thanks!
Want
to
hire
Elon
Musk’s
lawyer?
That
will
be
$3,000
an
hour
[Reuters]
Staci
Zaretsky is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
can
follow
her
on Bluesky, X/Twitter,
and Threads, or
connect
with
her
on LinkedIn.