OSB 1998 Economic Survey

Data regarding billing practices of Oregon attorneys in private practice was obtained in the survey. Data regarding hours billed per month, hours billed per month by method of pay, hourly billing rate (analyzed by total years admitted to practice and by area of private practice), and the percentage of time and income by billing method is presented in the following tables.

Hours Billed : Average and median hours billed per month are included in the following table. Hours billed range from a high of 125 average hours and 138 median hours in Portland to a low of 80 average and median hours in the Oregon Coast region. The overall average hours billed of 108 per month was slightly greater that the average of 105 in 1994. Similar comparisons with 1994 data exist for most of the regional data. This data includes attorneys in private practice working full-time or part-time by choice.

Hours Billed by Method of Pay : Hours billed per month are presented in the following table by method of pay for attorneys in private practice working full-time or part-time by choice. The overall median number of hours for employees was 139 while the Portland region was highest with 145 hours per month. Owner overall median number of hours was 110 and 130 for the Portland region. This data was not collected in the 1994 survey.

Hours Billed Per Month by Method of Pay- Private Practice
Method of Pay		Oregon	Portland	Tri-County	Upper Valley	Lower Valley	Southern Oregon	Eastern Oregon	Oregon Coast
Owner (e.g., Partner, Shareholder, Sole Practitioner)	Average	103	120	80	100	97	100	97	80
	Median	110	130	80	100	110	100	100	80
Employee (e.g., salaried or hourly paid)	Average	124	135	112	117	111	90	113	81
	Median	139	145	120	115	120	100	120	64
Contract (e.g., paid by hour or assignment)	Average	80	82	89	65	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Median	88	83	100	74	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Billing Rate : The low, average, median, and high hourly billing rates are included in the following table. This data and subsequent tables regarding billing rates includes attorneys in private practice working full-time, part-time by choice, or part-time due to lack of legal work. The overall average and median billing rates of $138 and $130 per hour compare to $123 and $120 in the 1994 survey.

Total Years Admitted to Practice : Average and median hourly billing rates by total years admitted to practice are presented in the following table. Overall average and median billing rates were generally higher with the more years admitted to practice. Regional data exhibits some variations, but generally follows the trend of higher rates as years of experience increase.

Hourly Billing Rate by Total Years Admitted to Practice - Private Practice
Years Admitted		Oregon	Portland	Tri-County	Upper Valley	Lower Valley	Southern Oregon	Eastern Oregon	Oregon Coast
0-3 Years	Average	100	104	89	104	103	96	105	108
	Median	100	105	100	100	100	95	100	100
4-6 Years	Average	114	120	123	104	94	103	109	107
	Median	115	125	120	100	100	100	108	100
7-9 Years	Average	122	141	116	109	113	108	115	111
	Median	125	140	125	120	125	105	120	120
10-12 Years	Average	135	145	131	110	119	127	130	n/a
	Median	128	150	125	105	125	125	140	n/a
13-15 Years	Average	141	155	132	134	128	111	126	115
	Median	140	150	135	138	139	110	130	118
16-20 Years	Average	148	170	127	129	143	122	125	121
	Median	145	175	125	140	150	125	135	125
21-30 Years	Average	157	178	148	140	145	139	130	133
	Median	150	180	150	143	150	135	125	125
Over 30 Years	Average	163	181	164	134	150	142	118	129
	Median	150	175	140	125	150	140	125	125

Area of Private Practice : For attorneys in private practice, the average and median hourly billing rate by area of private practice is presented in the following table. The average hourly billing rates range from a low of $116 per hour ($103 in 1994) for criminal law to a high of $160 for business/corporate. The highest average in 1994 was $139 for tax/estate planning. The highest median billing rate was $160 for environmental law. In general, the highest hourly billing rates were in Portland.

Hourly Billing Rate by Area of Private Practice
Area of Private Practice		Oregon	Portland	Tri-County	Upper Valley	Lower Valley	Southern Oregon	Eastern Oregon	Oregon Coast
Bankruptcy	Average	156	179	148	n/a	147	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Median	150	188	143	n/a	150	n/a	n/a	n/a
Business/Corporate	Average	160	170	147	144	167	138	137	132
	Median	150	173	128	140	165	140	140	130
Civil Litigation, Defendant	Average	133	142	119	111	108	131	122	n/a
	Median	125	135	125	110	100	125	125	n/a
Civil Litigation, Plaintiff	Average	135	145	115	125	132	123	127	115
	Median	135	150	123	143	125	123	125	120
Criminal	Average	116	143	114	105	90	124	108	115
	Median	125	140	125	120	88	125	110	110
Environmental Law	Average	149	169	77	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Median	160	168	25	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Family Law	Average	126	144	125	126	122	110	113	124
	Median	125	150	125	125	125	100	110	125
Real Estate/Land Use	Average	147	167	132	111	153	127	129	108
	Median	143	170	128	105	150	120	129	100
Tax/Estate Planning	Average	150	168	139	129	150	137	135	116
	Median	150	165	140	125	150	143	143	120
Workers’ Compensation	Average	133	133	136	115	154	123	n/a	n/a
	Median	125	123	125	113	150	120	n/a	n/a
General (no area over 50%)	Average	127	146	119	118	125	128	118	122
	Median	125	143	120	120	125	130	125	125
Other	Average	155	169	142	125	145	107	n/a	n/a
	Median	150	175	135	120	150	110	n/a	n/a

Billing Methods : Data for percentage of time and income was collected for various types of billing methods. Hourly billing remains the principal method of billing with the percentage of time increasing from 68% in 1994 to 70% and the percentage of income increasing from 66% to 69%. Contingency billing decreased slightly from the 1994 survey and flat rate billing remained relatively stable. The average percentage of time spent for a particular billing method continues to closely relate to the average percentage of income derived from that billing method.

Average Percentage of Time and Income by Billing Method - Private Practice
Billing Method		Oregon	Portland	Tri- County	Upper Valley	Lower Valley	Southern Oregon	Eastern Oregon	Oregon Coast
Hourly Billing	% Time	70%	75%	66%	68%	67%	65%	71%	62%
	% Income	69%	74%	65%	64%	68%	59%	70%	64%
Contingency	% Time	15%	15%	14%	16%	18%	17%	10%	14%
	% Income	16%	17%	13%	20%	17%	19%	10%	13%
Flat Rate	% Time	11%	7%	17%	12%	12%	16%	16%	14%
	% Income	12%	7%	18%	13%	11%	20%	16%	17%
Value Billing	% Time	2%	2%	2%	2%	2%	1%	2%	2%
	% Income	2%	2%	2%	2%	1%	2%	2%	3%
Other	% Time	1%	1%	1%	1%	2%	0%	1%	8%
	% Income	1%	1%	2%	1%	3%	0%	2%	3%

Hours Billed Per Month - Private Practice
Hours Billed	Oregon	Portland	Tri-County	Upper Valley	Lower Valley	Southern Oregon	Eastern Oregon	Oregon Coast
Average	108	125	88	101	100	98	101	80
Median	120	138	100	100	110	100	100	80

Hourly Billing Rate Overall - Private Practice
Hourly Billing Rate	Oregon	Portland	Tri-County	Upper Valley	Lower Valley	Southern Oregon	Eastern Oregon	Oregon Coast
Low	15	25	15	30	25	80	50	90
Average	138	155	128	121	130	125	120	121
Median	130	150	125	125	125	125	125	125
High	365	300	365	195	240	250	160	175