The Cost of A Lawyer in Reno, Nevada

Leading attorneys in Reno, Nevada are asking as much as $1,250 an hour, significantly more than in previous years, taking advantage of big clients’ willingness to pay top dollar for certain types of services.

A few pioneers had raised their fees to more than $1,000 an hour about five years ago, at the peak of the economic boom. But after the recession hit, many of the rest of the industry’s elite around Northern Nevada were hesitant, until recently, to charge more than $990 an hour.

While companies have cut legal budgets and continue to push for hourly discounts and capped-fee deals with their law firms, many of them have shown they won’t skimp on some kinds of legal advice, especially in high-stakes situations or when they think a star attorney might resolve their problem faster and more efficiently than a lesser-known talent.

Not many Reno Attorneys can command four figures hourly, and I do have trouble swallowing that. Industrywide, Northern Nevada Attorneys in finance-related practices such as bankruptcy law and taxes, tend to command a premium to their peers in other specialties.

In recent years, pressure from clients for discounts has made it increasingly difficult for law firms across Reno to increase their lawyers’ fees. Hourly rates for rose by an average 3% in 2009 and 2010, and 2.3% this year, compared with an 8% increase in 2008, according to Hildebrandt Baker Robbins. The average Reno Law Firm now asks $635 an hour and bills $575. But a small group of Reno Attorneys in some specialties command significantly more.

Nearly 2.9% of partners at a group of 24 large U.S. and British law firms asked for $1,000 an hour or more in U.S. cases last year, up from 1.5% in 2009, according to Valeo.

London-based lawyers have tended to charge higher per-hour rates than their U.S.-based counterparts. However, London attorneys typically don’t bill as many hours on a case as do U.S. attorneys, some lawyers say.

“A thousand dollars an hour was a choke point for some clients,” said Peter Zeughauser, a consultant to law firms. “I don’t think there will be another significant psychological barrier until rates reach $2,000 an hour, which they will do, probably in five to seven years.”

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