http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23402703-details/'Meteoric%20salary%20rises'%20fuel%20%C3%BD%C3%BD1 ,000-an-hour%20cost%20of%20a%20lawyer%20in%20the%20City/article.do
Top lawyers in the big City firms are now charging up to £1,000 per hour.
A survey of in-house lawyers, who often use outside law firms for their work, found that more than two thirds had been charged or quoted fees that were between six and 10 per cent higher than last year.
Legal fees cost on average of between £500 and £700 an hour, but 36 per cent of those questioned by Legal Week magazine had been quoted or charged more than £700, including four per cent who had come across rates above £1,000.
No firm would admit to charging hourly rates of £1,000 an hour, but partners said instructions agreed on flat fees could be equivalent.
The results of the survey underline the premium charged by firms in London. One City partner at a US firm said: "Transaction size and complexity is increasing and there have been meteoric salary rises for associates, so it is no surprise that rates are up."
Some 18 per cent of those surveyed said they believed the rising costs of salaries and partner profits were being passed on entirely to clients.
Josh Bayliss, general counsel at the Virgin Group, added that rates are being driven by competition: "The best people are in high demand."
Top lawyers in the big City firms are now charging up to £1,000 per hour.
A survey of in-house lawyers, who often use outside law firms for their work, found that more than two thirds had been charged or quoted fees that were between six and 10 per cent higher than last year.
Legal fees cost on average of between £500 and £700 an hour, but 36 per cent of those questioned by Legal Week magazine had been quoted or charged more than £700, including four per cent who had come across rates above £1,000.
No firm would admit to charging hourly rates of £1,000 an hour, but partners said instructions agreed on flat fees could be equivalent.
The results of the survey underline the premium charged by firms in London. One City partner at a US firm said: "Transaction size and complexity is increasing and there have been meteoric salary rises for associates, so it is no surprise that rates are up."
Some 18 per cent of those surveyed said they believed the rising costs of salaries and partner profits were being passed on entirely to clients.
Josh Bayliss, general counsel at the Virgin Group, added that rates are being driven by competition: "The best people are in high demand."
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