Business & Corporate Law Attorney Fees by State

Business formation, contracts, M&A, compliance, and corporate governance. Fee ranges below are based on Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024 wage data for lawyers (SOC 23-1011), adjusted by practice area market data.

$5,000-$25,000
Ongoing-counsel retainer band
$85/hr
National median
51
State fee pages

Business & Corporate Law ongoing-counsel retainer placement

Hourly billing standard; retainers common for ongoing counsel. This directory treats business & corporate law as retainer-led hourly counsel: trust deposits typically open at $5,000 and top out near $25,000, while the working hourly band is $51-$149/hr (median $85/hr under the 1.20x multiplier).

Counsel-rate peaks: Washington D.C. ($122/hr), New York ($107/hr), California ($102/hr). Softest markets: Mississippi ($60/hr), West Virginia ($62/hr), Arkansas ($62/hr). Cross-jurisdiction spread is 2.0x over 51 states.

  • Counsel scope: Business formation
  • Counsel scope: contracts
  • Counsel scope: M&A
  • Counsel scope: compliance
  • Counsel scope: and corporate governance

Top 10 counsel-rate states for business & corporate law

Median hourly rate, BLS state wage data adjusted for ongoing counsel work

$/hr

What this shows Washington D.C. leads counsel rates at $122/hr for business & corporate law; ranking mirrors each state's BLS lawyer-wage baseline under the 1.20x multiplier.

Source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics As of 2024 data

Business & Corporate Law counsel retainer index

Full jurisdiction chip index for ongoing counsel. National retainer band $5,000-$25,000 stays fixed above; each chip scales the working hourly median by that state's BLS lawyer wage index.

DC $122/hr NY $107/hr CA $102/hr NJ $96/hr MA $94/hr MD $91/hr WA $90/hr CT $89/hr VA $89/hr DE $86/hr IL $86/hr CO $84/hr HI $84/hr AK $82/hr OR $82/hr PA $82/hr TX $82/hr MN $80/hr NH $80/hr RI $80/hr NV $78/hr AZ $77/hr GA $76/hr UT $76/hr MI $74/hr NC $73/hr OH $73/hr FL $72/hr ME $72/hr MO $72/hr VT $72/hr WI $72/hr NE $71/hr ID $70/hr IN $70/hr KS $70/hr LA $70/hr ND $70/hr TN $70/hr IA $68/hr MT $68/hr NM $68/hr OK $68/hr SC $68/hr AL $67/hr WY $67/hr KY $66/hr SD $66/hr AR $62/hr WV $62/hr MS $60/hr

Counsel-rate peak Washington D.C. ($122/hr) · softest Mississippi ($60/hr) · 2.0x spread across 51 states.

Adjacent counsel-retainer fee hubs

Business & Corporate Law fee figures use BLS OES 2024 (SOC 23-1011) plus ABA fee-survey matter norms. Estimates only, not quotes or legal advice. Source: BLS OES Lawyers (SOC 23-1011) Matter norms: ABA Law Practice Division publications; see methodology.