Attorney Fee Estimator
Get a data-backed hourly-rate range for any practice area and attorney experience level, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data.
Select a practice area and experience level above to see an estimate.
How the Estimate Is Calculated
The Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey reports a national median hourly wage of $71 for lawyers (SOC 23-1011). This tool applies two multipliers on top of that baseline:
- Practice-area multiplier - reflects the specialty premium or discount for that market. Corporate/securities work commands more; volume immigration less.
- Experience multiplier - solo/small-firm practitioners at 0.8x, mid-size at 1.0x, senior big-law partners at 1.4x.
The low and high bounds are 60% and 175% of the computed median - a range calibrated to cover most of the market without overstating extremes. See the methodology page for full sourcing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the fee estimator calculate rates?
The estimate starts with the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024 national median hourly wage for lawyers (SOC 23-1011, $71/hr), then applies a practice-area multiplier (reflecting demand, complexity, and market data for that specialty) and an experience-level multiplier. Low and high are set at 60% and 175% of the median to represent the realistic spread of the market.
Are these actual quotes or averages?
These are BLS-wage-derived national benchmarks, not quotes. Real fees vary significantly by attorney experience, case complexity, firm size, geographic market, and negotiation. Use these numbers as a rough budgeting baseline, then request a written fee agreement from any attorney you consider hiring.
Why does practice area affect the rate so much?
Specialty premiums reflect demand, barrier to entry, and case complexity. A business litigation partner at a major firm commands a premium because the matters are high-stakes and the clients are institutional. Immigration or estate planning at a solo practitioner reflects a more commoditized, volume-based practice. The BLS wage data for lawyers does not break out by specialty, so these multipliers are calibrated to publicly available fee-survey data from the American Bar Association and market-rate surveys.
Should I trust the high-end estimate?
The high end ($rate/hr) reflects senior partners at large metropolitan firms on complex matters - not the typical case. For most NY clients, the median estimate is a reasonable starting expectation. For anything at the premium end - securities litigation, M&A, complex federal criminal defense - rates can exceed even the high estimate shown here.