The big lawyers for billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Mayor New York Mayor Eric Adams currently have a standard billing rate of $3,000 an hour, and among the most expensive Manhattan lawyers. I put it on the top shelf.
Known for his well-known clients and ruthless litigation style, Alex Spiro is one of the small group of lawyers at his law firm, according to sources familiar with the company's claims practices.
Spiro's company, Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, has revealed various new claim rates in recent court filings. Sources said the top rate applies to Spiro and William Burck, the company's global co-management partner.
The highest rates for the most US lawyers have been rising in recent years, with the most senior partners regularly charging more than $2,000 an hour, leading millions of dollars in annual pay.
Law firms may adjust individual fees for clients or apply discounts. It was unknown how much SPIRO or BURCK would charge a particular client.
A spokesman for Quinn Emmanuel, set in Los Angeles, declined to comment. In addition to Musk and Adams, the company's clients include Alphabet's Google. In January, the Trump organization said it had hired Burck as an outside ethics advisor. Musk, Adams and corporate spokesmas did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Spiro represents Musk in several lawsuits, including honorific losses and shareholder cases and lawsuits filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. He did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Spiro is Currently defending Adams He opposed the detective's allegations that the mayor had received bribery from Turkish officials. Adams pleaded not guilty.
Burke, a longtime Republican insider, defended former Trump political strategist Steve Bannon.
Increase rate
Quinn Emmanuel's $3,000 top rate is a milestone for leading US law firms as lawyers' hourly fees continue to skyrocket.
Law firms regularly raise rates each year, with the highest rates for some of the largest companies in the United States pushing more than $2,500 for more than an hour in recent years, court records show.
Quinn Emmanuel said in a court application that the partners will now charge between $1,860 and $3,000 per hour. He said he would charge the company's “lawyer” lawyers between $1,775 and $2,725 an hour, and the associates between $1,035 and $1,665 an hour.
The rising billing fees helped to drive the increase in revenue and profits of US law firms in 2024, Wells Fargo's legal professionals said in a recent report.
Clients are willing to embrace “dramatic increase,” according to the ethics and legal professions around the Thomson Reuters Institute and the Georgetown Law Center. The Institute and Reuters share Thomson Reuters, the same parent company.
According to court records, Quinn Emmanuel's highest rates have increased by around 34% since 2022, when partners charged $2,130 per hour.
Quinn Emanuel revealed last year that it had earned more than $2 billion in revenue in 2023, according to industry publication The American Lawery.
