+4.8
Source: CLIO Legal Trends Report (available at https://www.clio.com/resources/legal-trends/2020-report/) Note: AK and HI not included due to insufficient data.
Attorneys in states with the largest increase in rates include Wyoming at $251, up 9.9% from the previous year, and Iowa at $175, up 9.1% from the previous year. However, one could argue that with such low rates for Iowans with a bar card, there was optimistically no place to go but up.
Some states saw a drop in hourly rates, though I don’t think we can draw too many broad conclusions here, as the states differ greatly in business demographics. Connecticut attorneys saw their average hourly rate go from $321 to $311, a drop of 3.2%, though still over the $300 benchmark, a high-water mark that can make some clients flinch. South Dakota saw a drop from $192 to $180 per hour. I’ve traveled in both states, and they could not be more different. Other states with declining statewide average billing rates include Georgia,