Is there any way to find out what the attorney billing rates are at
Arnold & Porter, Covington & Burling and Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering?

---

Request for Question Clarification by markj-ga on 27 Nov 2002 06:44 PST

cwiii --

I have found recent data on the hourly rate ranges charged by two of
the three firms.  In one case, the rates are broken down for partners
and associates and are part of a survey containing similar data for a
substantial national sample of firms.  In the other case, they are
broken down by partners, associates and counsel and were reported to a
court in connection with the bankruptcy filing of a client.

The third firm you cite did not report data for the recent national
survey, and I have not found the data elsewhere.  I believe that
reliable recent data on its billing rates is unlikely to be available.
 However, I can provide recent data on revenue-per-lawyer that, among
the very competitive firms you have cited, would suggest strongly that
the rates charged by this firm are roughly comparable to the rates
charged by the other two.

 Rates for individual lawyers vary within the categories of partners,
associates and counsel, so lawyer-specific data would not be
available.  Also, in more and more cases, law firms are negotiating
rates with clients or are using alternative arrangements such as fixed
fees or caps.  I can provide you with some information on these
practices.

If you would consider the data described above as a fully satisfactory
answer to your question, please post a question clarification to that
effect, and I will post the information as an answer.

markj-ga

---

Clarification of Question by cwiii-ga on 27 Nov 2002 07:25 PST

Please send me the information you have described below.  I believe
that will be sufficient.

Thank you.

(This is my first time to use your services, so please let me know if
you need further clarification from me.)

cwiii --

The hourly rates of lawyers at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering as of late
2001 were reported to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in connection with the
firm's representation of Enron.  As reported by law.com:

"Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, the only D.C.- based firm with a
significant Enron gig, is charging its regular rates for work as
special counsel to the Enron Board of Directors' Special Committee. 
Partners William McLucas, Charles Davidow and Joseph Brenner bill
between $375 and $650 an hour.  The firm charges $340 to $465 for
counsel, $195 to $335 for associates."

Law.com/"Inadmissible: Feeding From Enron Bankruptcy Trough"
http://216.239.53.100/search?q=cache:QTfz2lOiY2kC:www5.law.com/dc/story_template/inad0211.shtml+billing+rates+Washington+law+firms&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
(This is a Google cache copy of the document, since the link to the
original page did not work for me.)

The hourly rates of Covington & Burling were reported in a National
Law Journal compilation of rate information based on a 2001 survey of
the nation's 250 largest law firms.  That survey indicates that
Covington's hourly rates are $325-$575 for partners and $160-375 for
associates.  The complete survey results may be found here:
The National Law Journal (December 2001)
http://www.law.com/special/professionals/nlj/billing_rates_firm_by_firm.html

The hourly rates of Arnold & Porter have not been published on the
Internet, as far as I can tell after substantial research.  The firm
did not reply to the National Journal survey (nor did Wilmer, Cutler).
This is not surprising, since many law firms justifiably consider
billing rates to be competitive information, and from my personal
knowledge of various Washington firms, I believe that Arnold & Porter
is likely to be one of them.

Also, in light of changing market conditions for legal services, many
firms are now negotiating flexible billing arrangements with clients,
including such features as caps and fixed fees.  A good discussion of
this phenomenon may be found in a December 4 National Journal article
that is excerpted here:
Trial.com/Litigation News Archive (90% of the way down the page to the
heading Tuesday, December 4, 2001: "Rates rose at Many firms"
http://www.trial.com/Blogger/2001_12_01_Trial-BlogArchive.htm

Google Search Terms:

"billing rates" Washington law firms
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22billing+rates%22+Washington+law+firms&btnG=Google+Search

"hourly rates" "Arnold & Porter"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=%22hourly+rates%22+%22Arnold+%26+Porter%22&btnG=Google+Search

"billing rates" "Arnold & Porter"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=%22billing+rates%22+%22Arnold+%26+Porter%22&btnG=Google+Search

"Arnold & Porter" hourly fees
://www.google.com/search?q=%22Arnold+%26+Porter%22+hourly+fees&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&start=30&sa=N


I hope that this information fully meets your needs.  If any of the
above needs clarification, or if any of the links don't work, please
let me know.

mark-ga