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What's the hourly billing rate of first year associates at top New York firms (e.g. S&C/CSM)?

I'm just guessing and probably wrong, but 400 an hour. But a quarter to a third of your time is written off the first and second year. So, effective rate is proportionally less.

manofjustice wrote:I'm just guessing and probably wrong, but 400 an hour. But a quarter to a third of your time is written off the first and second year. So, effective rate is proportionally less.

1st year associate sticker rate is a little under that (over $300 but under $400 I believe). Billing arrangements are very complex: Partners will write down or write off time (and not just for first years), some clients pay flat fees for some services, some cases are taken on contingency, and I'm sure there are many other factors. It's very client/industry/matter specific. One client might happily pay for meals, copying, and first year expenses while another refuses to pay for 1st year time at all - even for the same kind of work.

Partner rates get up to $1,000 / hour and can be more for highly specialized work, but exceptions and alternative arrangements and write downs still exist.