The pay for top US lawyers has skyrocketed so far that even the financial sector’s “masters of the universe” are raising their eyebrows.
Bidding wars for star corporate attorneys have sent recruitment offers from rivals for the biggest “rainmakers”, or profit generators, to more than $25mn a year in some instances. Even hedge funds that specialise in distressed debt are starting to object as bankruptcy law partners are charging more than $2,500 an hour, with even their supporting first-year associates often billing nearly $1,000 an hour.
Survey data compiled by headhunter Major, Lindsey & Africa shows that average pay for US “Big Law” partners has jumped from $700,000 to $1.4mn in the past 10 years.
Industry observers say they do not expect the upward remuneration trends to abate in the foreseeable future, even with the continuing slump in corporate deals in the US. At the top end, lawyers have client rosters that are filled with Fortune 500 companies and private equity firms, worth tens of millions of dollars of revenue annually.
For the biggest deals, clients are not willing to save 30 per cent for firms not willing to run 100 miles per hour, 24 hours a day
