Small Firm Hourly Rates by State and Practice Area

How effectively is your legislation agency performing? The annual Authorized Developments Report tracks small agency hourly charges and key productiveness indicators. Listed here are highlights from the 2024 report.

To get up-to-date info from Clio in your state and observe space scenario, take a look at the Clio Hourly Charges Calculator, and browse the most recent Authorized Developments Report at www.clio.com/ltr.

What Is the Authorized Developments Report?

Since 2016, Clio’s annual Authorized Developments Report has been a treasure trove of observe administration benchmarking information for U.S. solo and small agency practitioners. In newer years, with the enlargement of the observe administration software program firm’s buyer base, it has additionally turn out to be a invaluable information supply for midsize legislation corporations. 

Now in its ninth yr, the Developments Report is an ongoing analysis initiative that, based on Clio, “tracks key traits in observe administration, shopper expectations, expertise adoption, and extra throughout the U.S. authorized business.” Current studies have centered on shopper service benchmarks and authorized advertising and marketing, and the 2024 report incorporates a deep dive into synthetic intelligence.

Nevertheless, this text focuses on the info that put the Authorized Developments Report on the map when it debuted in 2016: small agency hourly billing charges and productiveness metrics. 

So, let’s dig in.

Monitoring Key Productiveness Indicators

Scroll to the top of the Authorized Developments Report back to the part on “Billable Hours and Productiveness Indicators,” and also you’ll discover a mass of anonymized, combination information from tens of hundreds of U.S.-based Clio prospects, collected from the Clio platform. (Whereas the precise variety of platform customers isn’t given, based on the corporate, roughly 150,000 customers are on the platform worldwide.)

Along with billing traits by state and observe space, the report gives spectacular information on legislation corporations’ total productiveness, effectivity, income era, and money move. It does so utilizing 4 key efficiency indicators primarily based on the way you handle your enterprise.

Utilization Fee measures how a lot time is spent doing billable work throughout an eight-hour day. At 37%, the common charge was up 2% in 2024, in comparison with 35% in 2023 and 30% 5 years in the past in 2019.

The Realization Fee tracks how a lot of that point is definitely billed. At 88%, the common charge was up barely from 86% in 2023 and 81% 5 years in the past in 2019.

Assortment Fee tracks how a lot of that invoice the shopper pays. At 91%, the common charge was up 1% in 2024, in comparison with 90% in 2023 and 88% 5 years in the past in 2019.

Lockup Fee measures what number of days your agency’s income is “locked up” in an unbilled or uncollected state over the yr. The report tracks three lockup metrics: Realization, Assortment, and Complete Lockup. In 2024, the common realization was 46 days, the gathering realization averaged 28 days, and the entire variety of lockup days was 97 days. For extra on what this implies and learn how to apply it, learn “Lockup: A New Metric to Monitor Legislation Agency Money Stream.”

For this text, we’ll skip additional evaluation of the most recent utilization, realization and assortment charges, besides to say there was regular enchancment over the previous eight years, with stops and begins through the Covid disaster. Assortment charges, particularly, have proven marked enchancment. In fact, the survey group is made up of Clio customers, and legal professionals who decide to utilizing observe administration software program are more likely to reap the advantages of automating their enterprise processes.

Nonetheless, for the reason that Developments Report was first revealed, Clio has labored exhausting to persuade legal professionals that specializing in incremental enhancements to their programs — comparable to growing the hours they spent on billable work through the day, billing extra of that point, and lowering the variety of days it took to gather on excellent payments — may have an outsized influence on their total success. Watching productiveness indicators enhance yr over yr is just not a small victory.

The report contains tables with every state’s common utilization, realization and assortment charge, and we urge you to review the outcomes and soak up the authors’ options. Analyzing how your observe compares to the averages and monitoring your personal metrics can encourage a few of these small changes that may enhance your observe’s well being and viability.

Understanding Lawyer Hourly Charges

Lawyer hourly charges are a basic billing construction legislation corporations use to cost shoppers for his or her authorized providers. These charges are calculated primarily based on the time a lawyer spends engaged on a case, and so they can range broadly relying on a number of components. The lawyer’s expertise, location, and the kind of legislation practiced all play important roles in figuring out the hourly charge. As an example, a seasoned legal professional in a metropolitan space could cost the next hourly charge than a much less skilled lawyer in a rural setting. For instance, look to the areas with the best lawyer hourly charges, Washington, DC and Delaware, and the bottom charges, West Virginia and Montana. For those who’ve traveled in these states, you realize they might not be extra completely different. 

For shoppers, understanding lawyer hourly charges is essential for budgeting authorized charges — it helps them make knowledgeable choices when hiring authorized counsel, whether or not they pay hourly, use a value-based charge mannequin or a hybrid. For legislation corporations, the info on common billing charges by state and observe space are benchmark in case you are contemplating hourly charge hikes or determining learn how to construction value-based or flat-fee billing choices. Understanding what legal professionals and paralegals invoice in several states and observe areas — in addition to the odds charges enhance (or lower) yr by yr — helps legislation corporations determine learn how to alter their charges to stay aggressive.

The Billable Hour Index

Clio’s Authorized Billable Hour Index (under) tracks the trajectory of small agency hourly charges for the reason that firm revealed its first Authorized Developments Report in 2016.

This graph’s pattern traces observe three completely different charges: 

Lawyer hourly charge (blue), which averaged $341 per hour in 2024

Non-Lawyer hourly charge (purple), which averaged $193 per hour in 2024

Blended Legislation Agency charge (inexperienced), which averaged $314 per hour in 2024

The blended charge reveals the common of what each legal professionals and non-lawyers charged over this era. The yellow line reveals the speed of inflation primarily based on the Client Value Index. 

Common Lawyer Billing Charges Surpass the CPI

Because the chart reveals, even with a dip within the CPI through the pandemic, common billing charges for legal professionals have risen steadily, surpassing inflation, and the legislation agency charge has remained consistent with inflation over the previous two years. Non-lawyer charges for paralegals and authorized professionals, nonetheless, dipped effectively under the CPI.

In response to Clio’s Lawyer-in-Residence, Joshua Lenon, who offered the Developments Report on the Clio Cloud Convention in October, “What we see is that legal professionals are literally actually good about protecting hourly charges above the speed of inflation. Actually, we are likely to see these common charges enhance at round 4% yearly.” The issue is that legislation agency charges, particularly non-lawyer charges, aren’t maintaining with that trajectory. “In the event that they have been,” mentioned Lenon, “legal professionals can be charging much less, the agency charge can be increased, and the non-lawyer charge can be a lot increased.”

Total, since 2023, the common lawyer charge has elevated by 4.3%, from $327 to $341, whereas the non-lawyer charge has elevated by 8.4%, from $178 to $193. After falling under the inflation charge post-pandemic, the blended legislation agency charge recovered in 2023 and remained regular with inflation in 2024, growing by 4.1% from $292 to $314. 

Common Lawyer Charges By State: Winners and Losers

With the common hourly billable charge for legal professionals on the upswing lately, even legal professionals in states with the bottom common hourly charges noticed charge will increase between 8% (New Mexico) and 25% (Iowa). Final place, West Virginia, noticed lawyer charges enhance 20%, from $162 to $195. 

Lawyer Hourly Charges by State: 2024

RANKSTATELAW FIRM RATE2024 LAWYER RATE2024 NON-LAWYER RATE% FIRM RATE CHANGE FROM PAST YEAR% LAWYER RATE CHANGE FROM PAST YEARLaw Agency % Change from 2020

No. 1DC$427$462$20117.017.924.9

No. 2DE$391$423$20726.923.034.4

No. 3NY$374$398$22310.311.210.7

No. 4CA$360$391$23415.013.716.9

No. 5CT$347$384$20910.512.319.7

No. 6VA$327$351$19919.819.023.9

No. 7IL$328$349$20014.714.417.1

No. 8NJ$329$348$19413.113.710.0

No. 9TX$308$345$17716.715.021.7

No. 10MD$344$344$21420.311.019.9

No. 11GA$315$340$19320.218.925.0

No. 12FL$304$335$18315.212.816.0

No. 13NV$301$330$1816.46.17.5

No. 14WA$290$322$17312.411.815.5

No. 15MA$305$318$24911.711.618.7

No. 16RI$303$317$18429.532.157.8

No. 17HI*$293$312$164–––

No. 18MN$283$305$16213.212.515.0

No. 19PA$288$302$1975.94.97.5

No. 20CO$279$302$16918.215.718.7

No. 21AK*$272$300$178–––

No. 22OR$267$296$15016.116.119.7

No. 23NC$271$295$15818.316.121.0

No. 24NH$281$294$20622.218.516.1

No. 25MI$269$294$1388.010.58.9

No. 26KS$277$292$16830.028.631.9

No. 27UT$271$291$16017.316.42.7

No. 28WY$266$290$12818.820.314.2

No. 29SC$256$287$13917.415.323.1

No. 30AZ$261$287$1447.97.914.5

No. 31ND$266$285$18015.212.613.7

No. 32TN$260$281$14919.320.622.6

No. 33MO$262$280$15415.412.421.3

No. 34WI$269$278$15822.820.321.2

No. 35IN$264$278$17417.314.921.1

No. 36AR$252$271$16810.012.014.5

No. 37OH$255$268$18120.319.619.7

No. 38VT$251$267$14516.218.120.1

No. 39ID$249$267$14114.214.620.3

No. 40LA$244$266$1138.08.611.4

No. 41NM$237$261$1438.27.99.7

No. 42OK$242$257$13111.09.417.5

No. 43NE$251$256$23015.717.418.4

No. 44IA$241$254$16624.925.741.8

No. 45AL$233$246$14319.518.325.3

No. 46SD$237$245$15421.523.135.4

No. 47MS$228$242$15814.611.519.4

No. 48ME$229$236$18125.122.342.2

No. 49KY$227$236$15817.615.715.8

No. 50MT$220$234$13217.617.620.2

No. 51WV$192$195$19720.020.416.4

Supply: CLIO Authorized Developments Report on-line information (obtainable at https://www.clio.com/sources/legal-trends). *Hawaii and Alaska information was not obtainable earlier than 2024.

The Authorized Developments Report analyzed information from 50 states, together with Alaska and Hawaii, plus the District of Columbia.

At $195, West Virginia is the one state with a mean lawyer billing charge under $200, demonstrating the numerous disparities in authorized charges primarily based on geographical location. Lower than 300 miles northeast, Washington, DC, has the best common lawyer billing charge at $462. Delaware was the one different state or area to surpass the $400 threshold, rating No. 2 at $423.

Nonetheless, greater than 30 states have a mean legislation agency billing charge that’s under the $314 common 2024 blended charge and the $313 CPI charge.

Luckily, no state’s common hourly charge decreased in 2024.

The High 10 States for Lawyer Hourly Charges

The highest 10 jurisdictions with the best lawyer billing charge in 2024 are:

District of Columbia ($462) 

Delaware ($423)

New York ($398)

California ($391 )

Connecticut ($384)

Vermont ($351)

Illinois ($349)

New Jersey ($348 )

Texas ($345)

Maryland ($344)

Standard knowledge and previous information inform us that geographic facilities with excessive hourly charges, like D.C., Delaware and New York, are higher in a position to enhance their charges. That is sensible since their shoppers are accustomed to annual charge will increase. Nevertheless, as demand for authorized providers ramped up through the pandemic and corporations scrambled to maintain up with rising inflation, charges elevated throughout the authorized panorama, not simply among the many high tier. Given present financial circumstances that pattern is just not more likely to finish.

The states with the biggest will increase in charges embrace Rhode Island, at $317, up 34.8% from the earlier yr; Kansas, at $292, up 28.6%; and Forty fourth-ranked Iowa, at $254, up 25.7%. Solely six states noticed will increase under 10%.

The Backside 10 States for Lawyer Hourly Charges

The ten states with the bottom common hourly charges are, from lowest to highest: 

West Virginia ($195) (51st)

Montana ($234) (fiftieth)

Kentucky ($236) (forty ninth)

Maine ($236) (forty eighth)

Mississippi ($242) (forty seventh)

South Dakota ($245) (forty sixth)

Alabama ($246) (forty fifth)

Iowa ($254) (Forty fourth)

Nebraska ($256) (forty third)

Oklahoma ($257) (forty second)

Monitoring Hourly Fee Knowledge by Apply Space

Which observe areas have the best and lowest charges? Clio tracks the common billing charges in 30 completely different observe areas, and right here’s the place we see the actual influence of the trailing pandemic impact and the financial system.

Hourly Charges by Apply Space: 2023-2024

RANKPRACTICE2024 LAWYER RATE2024LAW FIRM RATE2024 NON LAWYER RATEFIRM % CHANGE FROM 2023LAWYER % CHANGE FROM 2023FIRM % CHANGE FROM 2020

No. 1Bankruptcy4393912145.372.5121.99

No. 2Intellectual Property4143932644.071.4517.56

No. 3Corporate4073882133.091.7218.81

No. 4Immigration3943573167.564.8219.61

No. 5Tax382350239(5.43)(7.07)15.71

No. 6Trusts3803332012.70(0.26)17.42

No. 7Commercial365347183(3.46)(3.56)9.51

No. 8Employment/Labor362335169(4.48)(4.14)9.55

No. 9Real Estate3543351932.090.0017.31

No. 10Wills & Estates3513131965.431.9918.53

No. 11Business3463301862.121.4513.64

No. 12Contracts34134718310.093.2322.77

No. 13Mediation/Arbitration3383181423.14(0.59)9.75

No. 14Civil Rights/Const.330300150(1.00)0.005.33

No. 15Civil Litigation3273051621.970.6112.79

No. 16Collections3202861926.994.6915.38

No. 17Elder Law32029119510.659.3824.74

No. 18Family3142831683.530.6416.25

No. 19Administrative3112571400.001.938.95

No. 20Appellate3092971923.701.2915.49

No. 21Personal Injury3092711619.969.3922.14

No. 22Traffic Offenses3003053486.23(6.00)20.00

No. 23Construction2772481332.822.894.84

No. 24Government259254187(3.94)(5.79)10.63

No. 25Insurance2432291238.305.7612.66

No. 26Medical Malpractice238208121(1.44)(1.26)5.77

No. 27Criminal2162152023.262.3123.26

No. 28Small Claims20920212212.877.18(1.98)

No. 29Workers’ Compensation1771691310.591.137.69

No. 30Juvenile1361381879.426.6236.96

Supply: CLIO Authorized Developments Report (obtainable at https://www.clio.com/sources/legal-trends/)

Preserving in thoughts the common lawyer billing charge of $314, in 2024, 17 observe areas billed $314 or increased, and 22 billed above the $300 mark. Solely two observe areas fell under $200 per hour.

The High 10 Apply Areas

In 2024, the ten observe areas the place legal professionals charged the best common charges have been:

Chapter

Mental Property

Company

Immigration

Tax

Trusts

Business

Worker/Labor

Actual Property

Wills and Estates

Selecting Up the Rear

The bottom hourly charges are $162 and under. Once more, evidently many legal professionals nonetheless put inventory in realizing how delicate shoppers are to ceiling charges. The observe areas wrapping up the underside of the chart, beginning with the bottom, are: 

Juvenile

Staff’ Compensation

Small Claims

Legal

Medical Malpractice

Insurance coverage

Authorities

Development

Visitors Offenses

Private Damage

If you wish to dig additional into the info, obtain Clio’s most up-to-date Authorized Developments Report right here.

Due to Susan Kostal for authoring earlier editions of this text.

Picture © iStockPhoto.com.

Illustration ©iStockPhoto.com

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