2007 Electronic NLJ Billing Survey

The following is a sampling of hourly rates charged by law firms that establish billing rates based on associate class. The name of each law firm is followed by its number of attorneys and the location of its principal or largest office. The firms reported the data as part of The National Law Journal‘s 2007 survey of the nation’s largest law firms.

Andrews Kurth (396) (Houston) 1st $210-$240 5th $320-$330 2d $250-$270 6th $325 3d $270-$305 7th $345-$360 4th $295-$305 8th $375-$395 Bradley Arant Rose & White (242) (Birmingham, Ala.) 1st $185 5th $215 2d $185 6th $230 3d $190 7th $250 4th $205 Briggs and Morgan (178) (Minneapolis) 1st $195 5th $250 2d $210 6th $265 3d $220 7th $275 4th $230 Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione (158) (Chicago) 1st $225 5th $320 2d $250 6th $345 3d $270 7th $370 4th $295 8th $385 Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck (177) (Denver) 1st $170 Bryan Cave (847) (St. Louis) 1st $165-265 3d $225-350 2d $195-305 4th $250-370 Butzel Long (232) (Detroit) 1st $155 Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle (221) (New York) 1st $280 5th $440 2d $320 6th $480 3d $360 7th $520 4th $400 8th $560 Davis Wright Tremaine (449) (Seattle) 1st $215 5th $291 2d $234 6th $309 3d $258 7th $319 4th $264 8th $338 (average rates) Day Pitney (400) (Florham Park, N.J.) 1st $210-$240 5th $275-$380 2d $230-$290 6th $280-$405 3d $245-$325 7th $295-$430 4th $260-$350 8th $295-$450 Dickinson Wright (234) (Detroit) 1st $170 4th $190 2d $175 5th $205 3d $180 6th $220 Dickstein Shapiro (388) (Washington) 1st $225-$250 5th $360-$400 2d $275-$320 6th $360-$400 3d $320-$360 7th $400-$440 4th $320-$360 8th $400-$440 Dinsmore & Shohl (316) (Cincinnati) 1st $165 5th $210 2d $175 6th $220 3d $190 7th $230 4th $200 8th $240 Gardere Wynne Sewell (284) (Dallas) 1st $220 5th $315 2d $240 6th $335 3d $265 7th $355 4th $290 8th $360 Greenebaum Doll & McDonald (Louisville, Ky.) 1st $145 Hiscock & Barclay (172) (Syracuse, N.Y.) 1st $160 5th $170 2d $160 6th $180 3d $170 7th $180 4th $170 8th $195 Hogan & Hartson (1,092) (Washington) 1st $270 5th $395 2d $310 6th $420 3d $340 7th $445 4th $370 8th $475 Holland & Hart (347) (Denver) 1st $205 4th $265 2d $225 5th $285 3d $245 6th $295 Jenner & Block (495) (Chicago) 1st $275 5th $375 2d $300 6th $375 3d $325 7th $400 4th $350 8th $425 Kelley Drye & Warren (390) (New York) 1st $275 5th $385 2d $300 6th $405 3d $325 7th $425 4th $365 8th $450 Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear (208) (Irvine, Calif.) 1st $220 4th $305 2d $250 5th $330 3d $280 Lathrop & Gage (271) (Kansas City, Mo.) 1st $165 5th $210 2d $185 6th $215 3d $195 7th $220 4th $205 8th $225 Lewis, Rice & Fingersh (165) (St. Louis) 1st $155 5th $260 2d $185 6th $280 3d $215 7th $290 4th $240 8th $295 Lindquist & Vennum (174) (Minneapolis) 1st $165 5th $235 2d $185 6th $250 3d $215 7th $260 4th $220 8th $280 Locke Liddell & Sapp (421) (Dallas) 1st $190 5th $280 2d $200 6th $300 3d $220 7th $320 4th $250 8th $340 Loeb & Loeb (280) (Los Angeles) 1st $275-$300 5th $400-$425 2d $300-$335 6th $425-450 3d $335-$375 7th $450-$475 4th $375-$400 Lord, Bissell & Brook (290) (Chicago) 1st $245 3d $275 2d $260 4th $300 Manatt, Phelps & Phillips (320) (Los Angeles) 1st $265 5th $415 2d $305 6th $435 3d $345 7th $450 4th $385 McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter (238) (Morristown, N.J.) 1st $135 5th $180 2d $165 6th $185 3d $170 7th $190 4th $175 8th $195 McKee Nelson (224) (New York) 1st $375 5th $525 2d $390 6th $550 3d $455 7th $580 4th $475 8th $595 Miles & Stockbridge (212) (Baltimore) 1st $205 4th $240 2d $215 5th $250 3d $225 6th $260 Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads (136) (Philadelphia) 1st $195 5th $270 2d $215 6th $285 3d $235 7th $300 4th $250 8th $305 Morris, Manning & Martin (170) (Atlanta) 1st $180 5th $330 2d $245 6th $345 3d $295 7th $375 4th $310 8th $395 Patton Boggs (518) (Washington) 1st $275 5th $385 2d $300 6th $405 3d $325 7th $430 4th $350 8th $455 Phelps Dunbar (280) (New Orleans) 1st $146 4th $171 2d $147 5th $172 3d $161 (average rates) Phillips Lytle (173) (Buffalo, N.Y.) 1st $140 5th $185 2d $155 6th $200 3d $160 7th $210 4th $170 8th $215 Reed Smith (1,447) (Pittsburgh) 1st $230-$285 2d $240-$320 3d $255-$330 Robinson & Cole (209) (Hartford, Conn.) 1st $200-$220 5th $240-$275 2d $210-$230 6th $250-$280 3d $220-$240 7th $260-$280 4th $230-$250 8th $270-$300 Rutan & Tucker (149) (Costa Mesa, Calif.) 1st $210 5th $280 2d $225 6th $300 3d $240 7th $325 4th $265 Saul Ewing (247) (Philadelphia) 1st $185-$215 5th $220-$290 2d $195-$215 6th $245-$290 3d $195-$225 7th $235-$275 4th $195-$230 8th $260-$295 Schulte Roth & Zabel (461) (New York) 1st $340* 5th $495 2d $390 6th $515 3d $440 7th $535 4th $475 8th $550 (* $235 for the associate’s first four months) Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton (428) (Los Angeles) 1st $260 5th $365 2d $290 6th $390 3d $315 7th $410 4th $340 8th $425 Shumaker Loop & Kendrick (171) (Toledo, Ohio) 1st $180 2d $185 Snell & Wilmer (438) (Phoenix) 1st $180 4th $225 2d $195 5th $260 3d $210 Steptoe & Johnson PLLC (180) (Clarksburg, W.Va.) 1st $170 Sullivan & Worcester (170) (Boston) 1st $245 4th $300 2d $260 5th $320 3d $280 Thacher Proffitt & Wood (310) (New York) 1st $275 5th $430 2d $325 6th $455 3d $365 7th $485 4th $395 8th $495 Thompson & Knight (414) (Dallas) 1st $205 5th $330 2d $255 6th $350 3d $285 7th $370 4th $310 8th $370 Vedder, Price, Kaufman & Kammholz (255) (Chicago) 1st $205 5th $270 2d $220 6th $290 3d $235 7th $310 4th $255 Wiggin and Dana (146) (New Haven, Conn.) 1st $195 Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr (1,051) (Washington) 1st $275 5th $420 2d $315 6th $455 3d $350 7th $470 4th $385 8th $485 Winstead (306) (Dallas) 1st $210 5th $300 2d $235 6th $315 3d $250 7th $330 4th $275 8th $350 Winston & Strawn (912) (Chicago) 1st $255-$280 5th $385-$435 2d $290-$335 6th $405-$460 3d $320-$380 7th $415-$495 4th $360-$400 8th $435-$510 (Source: The National Law Journal, 2007)