Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Is the Ballooning Billing Rate Ready to Pop?

By Amanda O'Brien
March 01, 2025

Short of a seismic financial shock, hefty law firm billing rate increases are seemingly here to stay, much to the chagrin of clients and their general counsel. But that’s not to say that market conditions aren’t evolving to challenge the status quo of large rate increases — and in the words of one consultant advising corporate law departments, you don’t know you’re in a bubble until it pops.

Law firms have gone on the record saying that clients and the market are able to bear increases in legal spending, explaining why firms are continuing to raise rates above inflation or — as some in-house counsel claimed — above increases in corporate profitability. But some consultants and clients are beginning to raise some concerns about the current pricing model.

Seeking Out Alternatives

“Rates just seem to be going up and up and up. At some point … clients are going to begin to ask themselves is it worth it?” said Adam Smith Esquire president Bruce MacEwen. “At some point, companies and clients are going to be asking themselves, ‘Aren’t there any alternatives?’”

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws Image

This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.

The Article 8 Opt In Image

The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.

Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin Image

With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.

Legal Possession: What Does It Mean? Image

Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.

The Anti-Assignment Override Provisions Image

UCC Sections 9406(d) and 9408(a) are one of the most powerful, yet least understood, sections of the Uniform Commercial Code. On their face, they appear to override anti-assignment provisions in agreements that would limit the grant of a security interest. But do these sections really work?