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Partners at big US law firms are taking home more money than ever, with average remuneration reaching $1.4mn, according to a leading survey.
Researchers at recruitment specialists Major, Lindsey & Africa, who surveyed top attorneys at the country’s leading 200 firms, found that partner pay had risen by 26 per cent over the past two years, outstripping the growth in basic pay for heads of S&P 500 companies.
The boom in pay comes amid the early signs of a revival in mergers and acquisitions activity — including several so-called megadeals — and a sharp increase in litigation, which has given law firms the opportunity to drastically raise their rates in the US, UK and Europe.
“Law firm partners are continuing to reap the rewards of persistent high demand and increases in billing rates,” said Karen Andersen, a partner at MLA and a co-author of the survey, which received replies from 1,700 people. “Moving into 2025, especially with the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates, we expect these trends to continue.”
Alongside the growth in partner pay, MLA’s survey found that top male lawyers still earned almost 30 per cent more than their female counterparts on average, at almost $1.7mn.
The gap, while still large, had narrowed significantly from the 47 per cent reported in MLA’s survey four years ago. The study said the remaining discrepancy was driven in part by the fact that men “significantly outpace women in originations”, meaning they bring more business to their respective firms, and a difference in billing rates.
The survey also found that partners in New York enjoyed the highest average annual remuneration, at about $2.3mn each. Partners at firms serving the private equity sector, such as Kirkland & Ellis and Paul Weiss, have been reported to earn as much as $20mn.
MLA also found that partners in Silicon Valley saw the largest percentage increases in pay, up by 49 per cent compared with 2022.
The findings come hot on the heels of a survey by PwC that found the top 10 UK law firms were charging clients almost 40 per cent more per hour than they were five years ago.
It found big firms charged an average of £449 per hour in 2024, compared with £321 in 2019, with double-digit growth in average rates across the whole of the top 100 UK firms.
In the US, the average hourly billing rate in MLA’s survey was $1,114 this year, up 36 per cent from 2022, and more than 80 per cent higher than a decade ago.