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Hourly lawyer rates in Britain now at £1,600

Hourly rates at the richest legal firms in Britain now reach £1,600, according to a costs expert.

A long-time critic of the fees charged by elite firms, Jim Diamond spoke to the England and Wales Gazette this morning.

“I joined the legal profession in 1979 with such joy from my working-class backgound in Liverpool,” he said.

“I leave what is now an industry of making money with a deep feeling of shame about how it has ended up.”

Diamond has produced a document to educate buyers of legal services on escalating legal costs, which he said are “totally out of control”.

40% more per hour than 2019

A report last October by PwC showed that the top ten law firms in Britain were charging clients almost 40% more per hour than they did in 2019.

Diamond said: “They state top rates for British law firms are over £1,000. My research shows top hourly rates are closer to £1,600.

“In the six years since I drafted the third version of the client guide, the top 100 law firms in Britain have increased turnover by about £10 billion. The increase is more than the total turnover of the top 100 in the early 2000s.”

Diamond worked for Clifford Chance predecessor firm Clifford Turner and Allen & Overy in the 1980s and 1990s, before setting up independently.