Following years of swelling billing rates, the gap between agreed rates and standard rates have been fluctuating, and that gray area is seemingly being looked at by some law firms as a way to push rates higher without alarming clients.

The gap between standard billing rates and agreed billing rates varies firm by firm. And while there was a time period where agreed rates were closer in range to standard rates, the gap between the two has been widening. But there seems to be a push to bring them closer together as clients push back against rising rates generally.