Top hourly rates are up for law firms of every size, says Michael B. Rynowecer
Top hourly rates are up for law firms of every size, says Michael B. Rynowecer at BTI Consulting Group

When Michael B. Rynowecer, president of BTI Consulting Group, talks about the importance of your brand, he doesn’t mean your logo. He’s talking about the kind of profile that commands the new four-figure hourly rate that he says is “now clearly embedded in the legal landscape.” He also warns that unless law firms make their value clear to existing clients, they risk losing them to larger, better known – and more expensive – firms when high-stakes legal transactions come along.

Rynowecer shows that brand recognition is a deciding factor when clients choose a firm to handle their most major, complex transactions. This puts the largest firms in the lead when it comes to competing for this kind of legal work. The good news, Rynowecer says, is that if your clients know that your firm has a deep and long-standing knowledge of their business, they are less likely to jump ship: and this puts you in the market for their premium work – and the premium fees such work commands.

You can read more about Rynowecer’s survey of top hourly rates, and his excellent suggestions for how to address them, here. I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts on this matter – or any other – either in the comments section below, or directly via email.