Why are large law firms so expensive?
Big Businesses obviously have a lot of legal needs across an array of practice areas- securities, IP law, business law, labor law, real estate, and on and on. Big Law exists to meet those needs. They have the bandwidth and diversity to handle those widely varying needs as they arise. However, to have those legal services in place and ready to respond is not cheap, and Big Law carries significant overhead for this reason. Big Law is expensive because the comprehensive services they provide are expensive to maintain.
Solo practitioners represent the opposite end of the spectrum. Most solos specialize. We can’t meet the needs of Big Business in any meaningful way, but what we can do is provide specific legal services to our clients at profoundly lower costs than big law.
The hourly rates of lawyers at large firms can be jaw-dropping. Do no be deceived into thinking that you will receive commensurately better service for the money though. For individuals or small businesses with specific legal needs, a solo attorney will not only be less expensive, but will likely provide better service as well.
