FamilyCounsel.ca
FamilyCounsel.ca
Have a look at our latest website tool:
Parenting Time Calculator

Announcements

Back to Announcements

Results of 2019 Hourly Rate Survey

Ken Proudman Executive
 view Arbitrator profile
  BARR LLP
   Edmonton, Alberta


Thank you to the 46 lawyers who participated in my hourly rate survey!

As promised, I've put together a few graphs to illustrate the results. You can click on a graph to expand it. All respondents practiced in Alberta, so this information probably isn't useful in other provinces.

First, here's a chart showing all responses:



Next, I've colour-coded the responses to correspondence to each respondent's municipality:



Next, I wanted to see if there was a difference between a lawyer who practiced family law exclusively, versus only as most or some of their practice:



And finally, is there a premium to being at a firm that practices exclusively family law, versus a firm that is mostly, some, or minimal family law?



Here are a few takeaways:
  • There are many senior lawyers who charge the same rate as lawyers who have been practicing around 10 years. Except for three very senior Calgary lawyers, there almost seemed to be a cap of around $400/hr after roughly 15 years of practice.

  • For 0 to 5 years of experience, the going rate seems to be around $200 to $300 per hour. For 5 to 10 years, it appears to be around $275 to $375.

  • Senior Calgary lawyers appear to have a higher hourly rate than Edmonton lawyers. That could be due to the sample size though, the majority of respondents were based in Edmonton. It's difficult to make comparisons to other municipalities due to the small sample sizes.

  • The trend lines appear to show that there's a premium to practicing family law exclusively, but that might only be because of the three senior Calgary lawyers, looking at the actual points on the graph, I don't know if that's the case. It's a similar case for family law firms versus firms that don't focus on family law.

  • There are definitely a couple of outliers. I wish I'd given people the option to leave their name, because it would be interesting to hear the rationale of the 40 year lawyer who only charges $250 per hour, and the 5 year lawyer at a firm that only handles some family law charging $400 per hour.

  • The next time I send out this survey, I think I'll ask the number of family law assistants, and any special practice focus (e.g. Collaborative, mediation, arbitration, no court).


1 4 years ago - edited 4 years ago

Anonymous 2017
   Edmonton Region, Alberta


This is really interesting. As we've all heard before, people will charge what the market will bear. Also, keep in mind that some people specifically seek high-cost lawyers, as they are of the (mistaken, IMHO) belief that the more expensive the lawyer, the better the lawyer. It's really no different than high fashion - while it's true that you do usually pay more for quality products (or in law, for experience and expertise), there comes a point where there just isn't much room to improve on quality, while there is absolutely no limit on price. People pay for the name and exclusivity. I think there is some of that in law, too.
The flip side is that some people market on lower price - they price lower to entice value-conscious clients. This is perhaps more true in areas like real estate and wills & estates than family law, but I think there is still some of that in family.

Thanks for putting this together. It's good to see what the marketplace looks like.


1 4 years ago

You must log in or sign up to reply to conversations.


Back to Announcements









© 2016 to 2024 Kenneth J. Proudman. DISCLAIMER: The tools, documents, and other information herein are not legal, tax, or accounting advice or opinions. This website contains content and files submitted by third parties, to which you download or view at your own risk. By using this website, you agree to release Kenneth J. Proudman, BARR LLP, and Miller Boileau Family Law Group from all present and future claims and liability, including liability arising from any negligence.