Haywood v. LRA Corporation et al

Filing 29

MOTION by Plaintiff Sarah Jean Haywood for judgment (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A-Affidavit of Plaintiff, # 2 Exhibit B-Summary of Attorney's Fees, # 3 Exhibit C-Laffey Matrix, # 4 Exhibit D-Consumer Law Attorney Fee Survey)(Marco, David)

EXHIBIT D

UNITED STATES CONSUMER LAW
ATTORNEY FEE SURVEY REPORT
2010-2011

Ronald L. Burdge

United States Consumer Law
Attorney Fee Survey Report 2010-2011
Conducted By
Ronald L. Burdge
Burdge Law Office Co. LPA
2299 Miamisburg Centerville Road
Dayton, OH 45459-3817
Voice: 937.432.9500
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Copyright 2011 by R.L.Burdge but licensed as follows:
United States Consumer Law Attorney Fee Survey Report 2010-2011 by
Ronald L. Burdge is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Use of this work to aid in the determination of a reasonable attorney fee is
not considered a commercial use by the author and specific consent to use
this work in that manner is waived by the copyright holder.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at
www.TheLawCoach.com.
Creative Commons Licensing is explained at
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

This work is dedicated to the members of the National Association of
Consumer Advocates, the supporters of the National Consumer Law Center
and to countless Consumer Law attorneys across the United States and its
territories who tirelessly dedicate their careers to helping consumers
everywhere find justice in our legal system. A sincere thanks is extended to
all of them because without their participation this publication would not
have been possible.
And a special thanks is extended to Ira Rheingold, Executive Director of the
National Association of Consumer Advocates, and Jon Sheldon, with the
National Consumer Law Center, for their leadership, friendship, advice and
tireless support of this project over the years.
Ronald L. Burdge

Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Section 508 Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The Average and the Median: What it Means to You . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Geographic Areas Defined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Interpreting the Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2. Summary Profile of the Typical US Consumer Law Attorney . . . . . . . . . 9
3. National Average Table for All Firms by Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4. State Percentage Change Table, 2000 thru 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
5. Average Hourly Rates by Years in Practice Tables by Region . . . . . . . . . 16
Atlantic Region Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
California Region Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Florida Region Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Mid West Region Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
New York Region Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
North East Region Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Ohio Region Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Pacific Region Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
South Region Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Texas Region Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
US Territories Region Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
West Region Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6. Median & Average Summary Tables by Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Explanation of Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Atlantic Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
California Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Florida Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Mid West Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
New York Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
North East Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Ohio Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
i

Pacific Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
South Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Texas Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
US Territories Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
West Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
7. Regional Summary Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Summary Profile of the Atlantic Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Summary Profile of the California Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Summary Profile of the Florida Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Summary Profile of the Mid West Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Summary Profile of the New York Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Summary Profile of the North East Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Summary Profile of the Ohio Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Summary Profile of the Pacific Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Summary Profile of the South Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Summary Profile of the Texas Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Summary Profile of the US Territories Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Summary Profile of the West Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
8. Survey Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
9. Cases Employing Use of Survey Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
10. Additional Cases on Use of Survey Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
11. Recommendations for Future Survey Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
About the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

ii

1. Introduction
This report publishes the results of the United States Consumer Law
Attorney Fee Survey for 2010-2011. Attorneys in every state and the US
Territories took part in the national survey and the results are the most
comprehensive since our research work began on the subject in 1999.
Consumer Law is recognized as a specialty area of law1 dealing with
issues arising from transactions involving one or more persons acting as
individuals or as a family. It typically includes the legal fields of
bankruptcy, credit discrimination, consumer banking, warranty law, unfair
and deceptive acts and practices, and more narrow topics of consumer law
such as consumer protection rights enabled by specific statutes such as the
Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Uniform Consumer Sales Practices Act, state
and federal lemon laws, and many others.
Section 2 of this Survey Report is the Summary Profile of the Typical
US Consumer Law Attorney, a collective approach to the entire survey
results which yields a detailed picture of key aspects of the typical US
Consumer Law practitioner in the United States and its territories. It is
based on the survey results as a whole.
Section 3 contains the National Average Table for All Firms and
reports the regional average hourly rates according to small and large firm
classification and including both attorney rates and paralegal rates. This
table gives a broad overview at a glance with easy side by side comparisons
of key data. It also allows the reader to see the relative survey participation
from each of the 12 surveyed regions.
Section 4, the State Percentage Change Table, 2000 thru 2011,
reflects the state by state changes in hourly rate averages based on state
data. This section contrasts year 2000 rates, the first year of the survey
reports that were based on data compilation that began in 1999, with the
hourly rate averages in this year’s Survey Report. This table shows the
1

As said by the Ohio 9th District Court of Appeals, “[c]onsumer law is a specialty
area that is not common among many legal practitioners.” Crow v. Fred Martin Motor
Co., 2003-Ohio-1293 (Summit App. No. 21128).
1

actual increases and decreases in hourly rates as well as the percentage of
change from oldest data to current data.
Section 5 includes the Average Hourly Rates by Years in Practice
Tables by Region because years in practice is a primary factor in the
determination of a reasonable hourly rate. These tables report, on a
regional basis, the average hourly rates according to only the number of
years an attorney has been practicing law.
Section 6, the Regional Median & Average Summaries Tables, reports
median and average analyses and the results of key survey questions on a
regional approach. Added scaling in these tables gives greater analysis
opportunities for the reader’s consideration. An explanation of terms in the
table precedes the actual Regional Median & Average Summaries Tables.
Section 7 contains the Regional Summary Profiles analyses which
reports a summary profile of the typical Consumer Law attorney in each of
the 12 regions in the survey. It provides a collective approach to each
region’s survey results, which yields a more detailed summary picture of
key aspects of the typical US Consumer Law practitioner in each survey
Region.
Prior studies have shown that the factors most influencing an hourly
rate are an attorney’s years in practice, location of practice, and size of firm.
These factors are variously surveyed and reported in this publication. More
detailed location of practice data, and related customized data in relation to
locale, is published in the separately available Regional Reports and is
available upon request.
In compiling this report, an invaluable contribution was made by
members of the National Association of Consumer Advocates and
Consumer Law attorneys across the United States and its territories who
were invited to participate during 2010.
Information was collected for individual data as of end of year 2010.
As previously, an on-line survey service was utilized to gather and tabulate
the results with safeguards in place to limit data input per survey
participant to one region.
2

Similar studies were undertaken annually since 1999. The objective of
these studies was to determine the demographics of Consumer Law
practitioners, including attorney hourly billing rate, firm size, years in
practice, concentration of practice, primary and secondary practice area
prevalence, paralegal billing rates and other data.
The collected information has been condensed into this national
reference to provide benchmarks to assist Consumer Law attorneys as they
manage their practice.
Because of the still-increasing involvement of paralegals and law
clerks in non-administrative day to day aspects of legal practice, data is also
compiled on regional paralegal hourly rates.
The data is reported in several tables below, allowing the reader to
consider the data from several viewpoints of selected factors or criteria. In
addition, more detailed regional data with explanatory charts is available in
the twelve separately published Regional Survey Reports, available on
request.

Methodology
Survey results are based on the results of an on-line survey fielded
during 2010 and consisting of 9 key data questions. The survey was
administered via email, ordinary mail, facsimile and telephonic invitations
to a confidential, web-based questionnaire.
The entire active membership of the National Association of
Consumer Advocates (except for persons employed in public employment
or education) along with other known Consumer Law practitioners from
around the United States and its territories was surveyed.
Invitations to participate were also randomly sent to attorneys
disclosed through internet search engine results conducted on a national
level as well as randomly selected physical telephone book specialty listings
where available. Invitations to participate were also randomly sent to
attorneys identified through court filings in various jurisdictions and bar
3

association directories where available.
To help practitioners understand and interpret the data below, a brief
explanation of the data may help.

Section 508 Compliance
The United States Consumer Law Attorney Fee Survey is the only
online survey program that is Section 508 Certified. This means that the
survey program on which this survey runs meets all current US Federal
Section 508 certification guidelines.
Section 508 is a Federal law that outlines the requirements to make
online information and services accessible to users with disabilities. The
government web site that outlines the requirements and helpful links
regarding section 508 is located on the internet at this page:
http://www.section508.gov/. All Federal agencies are required to use 508
certified software and technologies when available.
The Voluntary Product Accessibility Template, or VPAT?s purpose, is
to assist Federal contracting officials and other buyers in making
preliminary assessments regarding the availability of commercial
"Electronic and Information Technology" products and services with
features that support accessibility. The VPAT was developed by the
Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) in partnership with the U.S.
General Services Administration (GSA).
Use of the VPAT means that this survey is built on programming that
includes a text element for every non-text element of the survey web page,
web pages are designed so that all information displayed with color is also
available without color, all parts of the survey are readable without having
to open another window, and other techniques to enable disabled persons
to fully participate in every aspect of the Fee Survey.
It is important for the Fee Survey to be able to reach the broadest
range of potential respondents possible to provide the reader with the most
accurate results. By including survey feedback from the disabled
4

demographic, the Fee Survey ensures a more representative population is
able to participate so their economic demographics may be included in the
Fee Survey results.

The Average and the Median: What it Means to You
To help practitioners understand and interpret the data in this report,
a brief explanation of common data terminology in this report is necessary.
The tables below use some terms whose meaning may not be clear to
many Consumer Law practitioners.
The average (sometimes called the arithmetic average) is calculated
by adding the values of all responses, then dividing by the number of
responses.
Example: Five responses are reported, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 12. The average
is calculated by adding their values (3 + 4 + 6 + 8 + 12 = 33), then dividing
by the number of responses (5). Thus, the average is 33 / 5 = 6.6.
The median has a different meaning. It is the middle value of a series
of values, which is initially rank-ordered from low to high. By definition,
half the numbers are greater and half are less than the median. Both mean
and median values are used in this survey report as a pointer for the central
area of survey results without regard to the average.
Statisticians variously agree that using the median as a statistic
reduces the effect of extreme outer numbers (extremely high or low values,
such as 12 in the above example). Using an average takes all numbers into
accounting.
Example: Five responses are reported, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 12. The median
is the middle number of the order of distribution, 6. Note, however, that
the average of this same distribution of numbers is 6.6.
The median literally is the value in the middle. It represents the mid
way point in a sequence of numbers. It is determined by lining up the
5

values in the set of data (in this fee survey that would be all of the
individual fee rate responses logged in the survey) from the smallest on up
to the largest. The one in the dead-center is the median number.
The median is not the average of the numbers (you don’t add
anything) in the list, but merely the center of the list. Some statisticians say
that using the mean (instead of the average) gives less weight to the
individual fee rates that are on the outer limits of the survey responses and
is more likely to direct the survey to the real center of the responses.
Because the median number is commonly not the same as the
average number, being either slightly above or below it, we are including
both results in this year’s survey results.

Geographic Areas Defined
The data has been compiled in twelve geographic regions, including
several states identified as their own region. This is loosely based on a
combination of three factors: the long-established Altman-Weil2 regional
tables, the quantity of Consumer Law attorneys that were readily identified
as practicing in each state, and the geographic proximity of any one state to
a nearby overall region.
Atlantic:
California
Florida
Mid West:
New York
North East:
Ohio
Pacific:
South:

DC, DE, NC, NJ, PA, VA, WV
IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, SD, WI
CT, MA, MD, ME, NH, RI, VT
AK, HI, OR, WA
AL, AR, GA, KY, LA, MS, OK, SC, TN

2

Altman Weil, Inc. provides management consulting services exclusively to legal
organizations. Its clients include law firms, law departments, governmental legal offices
and legal vendors of all sizes and types throughout North America, the U.K. and abroad.
The Altman Weil website address is http://www.altmanweil.com/.
6

Texas
US Territories:
West:

Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands
AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, UT, WY

Since this survey work first began in 1999, the states of California,
Florida, New York, and Ohio have consistently had a larger overall quantity
of Consumer Law practitioners than other states. For that reason, these
four states are treated in the national survey report as being their own
region.
The national survey report takes a national view of the survey data. A
separately published report is available on request for each of the 12
regions in the survey, providing more detailed, specific and slightly
different survey data with explanatory charts for the reader’s review and
further analysis.
In response to requests for even more detailed data, this year’s survey
added a new question which obtains from each survey participant the
specific area of the region where each participant maintains their firm
office. The responsive data enabled an even more localized set of data to be
generated for geographic areas within each of the 12 regions.

Interpreting the Findings
An hourly rate is commonly impacted by several factors, including
years of practice, firm size, practice location, degree of practice
concentration, reputation, advertising, personal client relationships, and
other factors. As a result, the information presented here is for
informational purposes only and may or may not be indicative of a
particular attorney’s reasonable hourly rate without further, more detailed
analysis of the available and other data.
A Summary Profile of the Typical US Consumer Law Attorney is
presented at the outset of this survey report in order to provide a summary
profile of the average US Consumer Law attorney and their practice. It may
be viewed as the average of all survey responses nationwide.

7

The National Average Table for All Firms by Region provides an at a
glance view of the averages for respondents by the 12 survey regions.
Presented in table format, it allows for quick and easy comparison of key
data across several regions but is intended to only provide a summary
statement of the key data and should be considered in tandem with the
other data reported herein.
The Average Hourly Rates by Years in Practice Tables by Region
presents an analysis of the impact that years in practice in Consumer Law
has on the average attorney hourly rate. Each region has its own table of
survey results with years in practice being divided in 9 time frames with
less than one year and more than 31 years bracketing the outer limits at
each end. One might think that longevity of practice would dictate an
increasingly higher hourly rate and these tables report survey results that
tests that assumption and, in some cases, variations are observed. Current
economic trends outside of this survey test that assumption even further
but are not considered in this survey.
The Median and Average Summaries Tables by Region are presented
to give an overview of the practice of Consumer Law lawyers in each region.
Note the use of both average and median results in this section, with the
median used to reduce the effect of extremely high or low values in some
data. These tables also show the difference in survey results when
comparing the average hourly rates and the median hourly rates, a factor
considered by some statisticians to arrive at what they consider to be more
neutral or accurate survey results.
Where necessary, insufficient data is represented by a dash mark
instead of a numerical entry in the column.

8

2. Summary Profile of the Typical US Consumer Law
Attorney
This section summarizes key statistics derived from the survey when
viewed from a national approach. Emphasis here is on the average
Consumer Law attorney in the United States without regard for any specific
survey factor.
The typical Consumer Law attorney is in a small office of 4 or fewer
practitioners. Not a single region was dominated by larger firms. The US
Territories region was the only region that reported 100% employed 4 or
fewer attorneys. At the other end of the spectrum is New York which
reported that 59.4% were firms employing 4 or fewer attorneys.
The typical Consumer Law attorney has been practicing law for 17.3
years. All regions reported in the range from 14 years to 20.9 years in
practice.
15.4% of all Consumer Law attorneys have been in practice less than 5
years, a decrease from the last survey report’s 19% but still slightly below
the previous survey report’s 16%.
The average percentage of more-experienced attorneys (those with 31
or more years of practice) is 17.25%. However, the region with the largest
percentage of more-experienced attorneys is the Pacific with 39.5%.
The average of less-experienced attorneys (those with less than 5
years of practice) is 15.4%. However, the region with the largest percentage
of less experienced attorneys is also the Pacific with 5.2%.
49.2% of all firms reported that their practice consists of 90-100%
Consumer Law issues. This figure is a dramatic drop from the last survey
when 82.7% was the level reporting their practice to fall in the 90-100%
range of Consumer Law.
The average Consumer Law practice is still supplemented in largest
part by Bankruptcy work (10 of the 12 regions in the survey), as it has been
for several years. In the US Territories Region, however, Bankruptcy work
9

is reported as the largest area of the practice with other general Consumer
Law work ranking in second place.
The typical Consumer Law firm employs 1 paralegal (1.7 to be precise)
whose hourly billable rate averages $95.8. In the last survey report, the
typical Consumer Law firm employed 1 paralegal but the hourly billable
rate was $96, which was itself a slight increase from the previous survey’s
$93.25.
The average hourly rate for the typical Consumer Law attorney
(regardless of all other factors) is $304, down very slightly from the last
survey report’s of $305, which was itself a drop of the prior report of $307.
The median Attorney hourly rate is $300, up from last year’s $293
and still below the preceding survey’s report of $308.
The median 25% Attorney hourly rate (the point at which 25% of all
survey participants reported an hourly rate lower than this number) is
$241, compared to $240 in the last survey. The median 75% Attorney
hourly rate is $355, compared to $365 in the last survey.
The median 95% Attorney hourly rate is $480, compared to $443 in
the last survey.
The typical Consumer Law firm lawyer has not changed their hourly
rate in the last 15.6 months. In the last survey it was an average of 17
months since the hourly rate had been changed in the average firm.

10

3. National Average Table for All Firms by Region
This Table does not take into consideration the factors of the degree of concentration or years of
practice, among other things, all of which will have a large impact on any particular person’s hourly rate.
Region:

% of Total
Survey
Responses
From This
Region:

Small
Firm % of
Region
(<5)

Large
Firm % of
Region
(>5)

Small Firm
Average
Attorney
Rate In this
Region

Large Firm
Average
Attorney
Rate In this
Region

Small Firm
Average
Paralegal
Rate In this
Region

Large Firm
Average
Paralegal
Rate In this
Region

Atlantic
(DC DE NC
NJ PA VA
WV)

15.0

68.6

31.4

350

342

128

130

California

10.7

75.7

24.3

350

453

121

153

Florida

6.7

80.9

19.1

312

340

102

96

Mid West
(IA IL IN
KS MI MN
MO ND NE
SD WI)

20.1

75.2

24.8

284

381

81

125

New York

4.6

59.4

40.6

323

309

96

110

11

Region:

% of Total
Survey
Responses
From This
Region:

Small
Firm % of
Region
(<5)

Large
Firm % of
Region
(>5)

Small Firm
Average
Attorney
Rate In this
Region

Large Firm
Average
Attorney
Rate In this
Region

Small Firm
Average
Paralegal
Rate In this
Region

Large Firm
Average
Paralegal
Rate In this
Region

North East
(CT MA
MD ME NH
RI VT)

5.9

73.2

26.8

285

382

95

130

Ohio

7.4

69.2

30.8

258

282

90

102

Pacific
(AK HI OR
WA)

5.4

71.1

28.9

281

356

105

107

South
(AL AR GA
KY LA MS
OK SC TN)

10.4

89.2

10.8

265

283

85

102

Texas

4.9

85.3

14.7

319

327

77

87

US
Territories

3.3

100

0

175

-

53

-

West
(AZ CO ID
MT NM NV
UT WY)

5.1

80.6

19.4

300

230

94

75

12

4. State Percentage Change Table, 2000 thru 2011
The purpose of this table is to provide a historical perspective on the
average hourly rates reported by small and large firms in the United States
and its Territories since these Survey Reports began with the first report
published in year 2000. This table also provides the only state-specific data
for every state in the survey.
This table reflects the state by state changes in hourly rate fee
averages spanning back to year 2000, the first year of this Survey Report
which was based on data compilation that began in 1999. This table shows
the increases and decreases in hourly rates as a percentage of change from
current to oldest data. For instance, if the average hourly rate for a small
firm in a given state was $200 in year 2000 and current data showed it to
be $300, then the percentage column would indicate a change of 150%.
In all cases the data goes back as far as possible to establish a baseline
to draw comparisons for the percentage of change calculations made below
but in a few cases the data may not go back to the report issued in year
2000 because of lack of data; in that event the percentage change is a
contrast of the oldest data available with year 2009 data.
For the Baseline columns in this chart, the regional data is used
where a state is a part of a region since state specific data only became
available in 2010.
For the 2011 Data columns in this chart, the data is the average of all
data obtained for each particular state. Where state data only existed for
either a small firm or a large firm, but not both, the data appears in this
table for both.
The percentage of 2000 Data column represents the change that has
occurred for that state since the oldest data available (i.e., for Alabama, the
Small Firm rate has increased 167.6% since 2000, from $170 to $285).
The Small Firm and Large Firm definitions in this table are the same
as those used throughout this Survey Report, i.e., a “small firm” has 4 or
fewer attorneys and a “large firm” has five or more attorneys.
13

U.S. State

Baseline 2011 Baseline 2011 % of 2000 % of 2000
Sm Firm Data Lg Firm Data
Data
Data
(2000) Sm Firm (2000) Lg Firm Sm Firm Lg Firm
Alabama
170
285
225
306
168
136
Alaska
137
229
175
229
167
131
Arizona
137
330
175
300
241
171
Arkansas
169
212
238
212
125
89
California
212
350
300
453
165
151
Colorado
137
312
175
312
228
178
Connecticut
192
417
238
417
217
175
Delaware
192
362
238
312
189
131
Florida
170
312
225
340
184
151
Georgia
170
327
225
327
192
145
Hawaii
137
327
175
370
239
211
Idaho
137
300
175
230
219
131
Illinois
177
376
197
458
212
232
Indiana
177
293
197
337
166
171
Iowa
150
262
300
262
175
87
Kansas
150
262
300
262
175
87
Kentucky
170
230
225
230
135
102
Louisiana
169
275
238
275
163
116
Maine
192
227
238
187
118
79
Maryland
192
366
238
300
191
126
Massachusetts
192
255
238
437
133
184
Michigan
177
272
197
250
154
127
Minnesota
170
258
300
357
152
119
Mississippi
150
212
225
212
141
94
Missouri
137
330
300
250
241
83
Montana
150
187
175
187
125
107
Nebraska
137
284
300
381
207
127
Nevada
192
362
175
362
189
207
New
192
387
238
387
202
163
Hampshire
New Jersey
137
365
238
365
266
153
New Mexico
192
368
175
368
192
210
New York
170
323
238
309
190
130
No. Carolina
150
266
225
275
177
122
No. Dakota
177
162
300
162
92
54
Ohio
169
258
197
282
153
143
Oklahoma
137
240
238
240
175
101
14

Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
So Carolina
So Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Washington DC
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
US Territories

192
192
170
170
150
170
169
137
192
170
137
192
192
177
137
185

275
361
262
254
262
262
319
225
195
376
255
287
275
306
187
175

175
238
238
225
300
225
238
175
238
225
175
238
238
197
175
200

15

357
345
262
262
262
262
327
312
195
225
287
478
293
287
187
175

143
188
154
149
175
154
189
164
102
221
186
149
143
173
136
95

204
145
110
116
87
116
137
178
82
100
164
201
123
146
107
88

5. Average Hourly Rates by Years in Practice Tables by
Region
These regional tables are intended to provide the reader with a quick
and easy way of determining the average hourly rates for an attorney as
measured simply by years in practice.
Of course, the years in practice of an attorney is often deemed related
to the experience level of an attorney and is also one of the traditional ways
of determining the reasonableness of a particular attorney’s hourly rate.
It should be noted, however, that this factor is not a sufficient basis,
by itself, to consider a particular hourly rate to be reasonable in a particular
case. Other factors also relate to the determination of a reasonable hourly
rate in a particular case.

16

Atlantic Region Firms
Years Practicing
Consumer Law

Average Attorney
Hourly Rate

<1

-

1-3

229

3-5

234

6 - 10

338

11 - 15

329

16 - 20

373

21 - 25

390

26 - 30

389

>31

421

17

California Region Firms
Years Practicing
Consumer Law

Average Attorney
Hourly Rate

<1

287

1-3

237

3-5

347

6-10

387

11-15

378

16-20

419

21-25

470

26-30

525

>31

465

18

Florida Region Firms
Years Practicing
Consumer Law

Average Attorney
Hourly Rate

<1

162

1-3

237

3-5

320

6 - 10

287

11 - 15

315

16 - 20

350

21 - 25

356

26 - 30

343

>31

425

19

Mid West Region Firms
Years Practicing
Consumer Law

Average Attorney
Hourly Rate

<1

275

1-3

287

3-5

263

6 - 10

318

11 - 15

430

16 - 20

341

21 - 25

362

26 - 30

329

>31

275

20

New York Region Firms
Years Practicing
Consumer Law

Average Attorney
Hourly Rate

<1

212

1-3

204

3-5

293

6 - 10

225

11 - 15

385

16 - 20

312

21 - 25

456

26 - 30

237

>31

447

21

North East Region Firms
Years Practicing
Consumer Law

Average Attorney
Hourly Rate

<1

-

1-3

175

3-5

212

6 - 10

262

11 - 15

345

16 - 20

279

21 - 25

366

26 - 30

353

>31

391

22

Ohio Region Firms
Years Practicing
Consumer Law

Average Attorney
Hourly Rate

<1

-

1-3

162

3-5

217

6 - 10

222

11 - 15

243

16 - 20

323

21 - 25

287

26 - 30

247

>31

321

23

Pacific Region Firms
Years Practicing
Consumer Law

Average Attorney
Hourly Rate

<1

162

1-3

-

3-5

212

6 - 10

244

11 - 15

257

16 - 20

270

21 - 25

381

26 - 30

287

>31

350

24

South Region Firms
Years Practicing
Consumer Law

Average Attorney
Hourly Rate

<1

-

1-3

220

3-5

175

6 - 10

241

11 - 15

295

16 - 20

375

21 - 25

324

26 - 30

272

>31

270

25

Texas Region Firms
Years Practicing
Consumer Law

Average Attorney
Hourly Rate

<1

175

1-3

312

3-5

300

6 - 10

312

11 - 15

279

16 - 20

316

21 - 25

287

26 - 30

330

>31

351

26

US Territories Region Firms
Years Practicing
Consumer Law

Average Attorney
Hourly Rate

<1

50

1-3

162

3-5

212

6 - 10

181

11 - 15

160

16 - 20

172

21 - 25

200

26 - 30

262

>31

200

27

West Region Firms
Years Practicing
Consumer Law

Average Attorney
Hourly Rate

<1

-

1-3

225

3-5

-

6 - 10

262

11 - 15

223

16 - 20

316

21 - 25

304

26 - 30

362

>31

337

28

6. Median & Average Summary Tables by Region
Explanation of Tables
Firm Size

<5 means fewer than 5 attorneys in the law firm.
>5 means 5 or more attorneys in the law firm.

Median Years in Practice

The median number of years that all attorneys in
this region have been in practice.

Concentration of Practice
in Consumer Law

The largest percentage group, expressed as a
percentage, ranges are avoided where possible in
preference to a specific result.

Primary Practice Area

The area comprising the largest percentage of the
practice work.

Secondary Practice Area

The largest practice area outside of Consumer
Law. Where no one area dominates a dash is
entered in the table.

Median Number of
Paralegals in Firm

The median number resulting from all survey
responses.

Last Time Rate Change
Occurred (months)

The median number, expressed in months.

Median Paralegal Rate for
All Paralegals

Expressed in dollars, ranges are avoided where
possible in preference to a specific result.

Average Attorney Rate for
All Attorneys

Expressed in dollars, ranges are avoided where
possible in preference to a specific result. Note
that this is not the median.”

25% Median Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

25% of all survey responses are below this
number, expressed in dollars.

Median Attorney Rate for
All Attorneys

Half of all survey responses are above this number
and half below, expressed in dollars.

75% Median Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

75% of all survey responses are below this
number, expressed in dollars.

95% Median Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

5% of all survey responses are above this number,
expressed in dollars.

29

Atlantic Region
Firm Size

<5

Median Years in Practice

14.7

Concentration of Practice
in Consumer Law

90-100

Primary Practice Area

Consumer Law

Secondary Practice Area

Bankruptcy

Number of Paralegals in
Firm

2

Last Time Rate Change
Occurred (months)

14.8

Median Paralegal Rate for
All Paralegals

137

Average Attorney Rate for
All Attorneys

347

25% Median Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

275

Median Attorney Rate for
All Attorneys

350

75% Median Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

412

95% Median Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

537

30

California Region
Firm Size

<5

Median Years in Practice

13

Concentration of Practice in
Consumer Law
Primary Practice Area

90-100
Consumer Law

Secondary Practice Area

Bankruptcy

Median Number of Paralegals in
Firm

1

Last Time Rate Change
Occurred (months)

12

Median Paralegal Rate for All
Paralegals

137

Average Attorney Rate for All
Attorneys

406

25% Median Attorney Rate for
All Attorneys

362

Median Attorney Rate for All
Attorneys

412

75% Median Attorney Rate for
All Attorneys

487

95% Median Attorney Rate for
All Attorneys

587

31

Florida Region
Firm Size

<5

Median Years in
Practice

14

Concentration of
Practice in Consumer
Law

90-100

Primary Practice Area

Consumer Law

Secondary Practice
Area

Bankruptcy

Number of Paralegals in
Firm

1.8

Last Time Rate Change
Occurred (months)

15.3

Median Paralegal Rate
for All Paralegals

75

Average Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

317

25% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

250

Median Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

317

75% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

374

95% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

450

32

Mid West Region
Firm Size

<5

Median Years in
Practice

18

Concentration of
Practice in Consumer
Law

90-100

Primary Practice Area

Consumer Law

Secondary Practice
Area

Bankruptcy

Number of Paralegals in
Firm

1.7

Last Time Rate Change
Occurred (months)

13

Median Paralegal Rate
for All Paralegals

112

Average Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

276

25% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

250

Median Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

300

75% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

375

95% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

550

33

New York Region
Firm Size

<5

Median Years in
Practice

14.1

Concentration of
Practice in Consumer
Law

90-100

Primary Practice Area

Consumer Law

Secondary Practice
Area

Other

Number of Paralegals in
Firm

2

Last Time Rate Change
Occurred (months)

14

Median Paralegal Rate
for All Paralegals

100

Average Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

262

25% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

249

Median Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

300

75% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

362

95% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

575

34

North East Region
Firm Size

<5

Median Years in
Practice

17.7

Concentration of
Practice in Consumer
Law

90-100

Primary Practice Area

Consumer Law

Secondary Practice
Area

Bankruptcy

Number of Paralegals in
Firm

1.1

Last Time Rate Change
Occurred (months)

15.3

Median Paralegal Rate
for All Paralegals

112

Average Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

311

25% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

212

Median Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

287

75% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

387

95% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

575

35

Ohio Region
Firm Size

<5

Median Years in
Practice

19

Concentration of
Practice in Consumer
Law

90-100

Primary Practice Area

Consumer Law

Secondary Practice
Area

Bankruptcy

Number of Paralegals in
Firm

1.6

Last Time Rate Change
Occurred (months)

16.4

Median Paralegal Rate
for All Paralegals

98

Average Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

264

25% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

212

Median Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

250

75% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

312

95% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

437

36

Pacific Region
Firm Size

<5

Median Years in
Practice

20.8

Concentration of
Practice in Consumer
Law

90-100

Primary Practice Area

Consumer Law

Secondary Practice
Area

Bankruptcy

Number of Paralegals in
Firm

1.9

Last Time Rate Change
Occurred (months)

16.8

Median Paralegal Rate
for All Paralegals

100

Average Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

303

25% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

250

Median Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

300

75% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

350

95% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

500

37

South Region
Firm Size

<5

Median Years in
Practice

17.6

Concentration of
Practice in Consumer
Law

90-100

Primary Practice Area

Consumer Law

Secondary Practice
Area

Bankruptcy

Number of Paralegals in
Firm

1.4

Last Time Rate Change
Occurred (months)

16.5

Median Paralegal Rate
for All Paralegals

87

Average Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

267

25% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

212

Median Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

262

75% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

312

95% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

375

38

Texas Region
Firm Size

<5

Median Years in
Practice

19.1

Concentration of
Practice in Consumer
Law

90-100

Primary Practice Area

Consumer Law

Secondary Practice
Area

Bankruptcy

Number of Paralegals in
Firm

1.3

Last Time Rate Change
Occurred (months)

14.9

Median Paralegal Rate
for All Paralegals

87

Average Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

320

25% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

275

Median Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

312

75% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

375

95% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

575

39

US Territories Region
Firm Size

<5

Median Years in
Practice

14.9

Concentration of
Practice in Consumer
Law

90-100

Primary Practice Area

Bankruptcy

Secondary Practice
Area

Real Estate &
Consumer Law

Number of Paralegals in
Firm

1.4

Last Time Rate Change
Occurred (months)

20

Median Paralegal Rate
for All Paralegals

62

Average Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

175

25% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

155

Median Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

162

75% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

212

95% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

275

40

West Region
Firm Size

>5

Median Years in
Practice

14.6

Concentration of
Practice in Consumer
Law

90-100

Primary Practice Area

Consumer Law

Secondary Practice
Area

Other

Number of Paralegals in
Firm

3

Last Time Rate Change
Occurred (months)

15.8

Median Paralegal Rate
for All Paralegals

99

Average Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

230

25% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

180

Median Attorney Rate
for All Attorneys

287

75% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

312

95% Median Attorney
Rate for All Attorneys

324

41

7. Regional Summary Profiles
The regional reports which follow are highlights of the separately
published data in the Regional Reports, which contain further explanatory
data, analyses and information particular to each region.
Each regional analysis below contains a summary profile of the
typical Consumer Law attorney practice in each region with some
comparisons with prior survey data.

42

Summary Profile of the Atlantic Region
This section summarizes key statistics derived from the survey when
viewed from the Atlantic regional approach. Emphasis here is on the
average Consumer Law attorney in the Atlantic without regard for any
specific survey factor.
The typical Atlantic Consumer Law attorney is in a small office of 4 or
fewer practitioners (68.6%) and has been practicing law for 14.7 years. This
is the third year that the years in practice statistic has decreased.
Although 53.3% of survey participants reported that 90% or more of
their practice was devoted to Consumer Law, it was a substantial decrease
from last year’s 72.4% figure, indicating a decrease in the quantity of
attorneys devoting substantially all their time to the Consumer Law
practice area.
78.1% reported that Consumer Law still represented the largest area
of their practice time although that amount was also a significant decrease
from last year’s 89.7%. The average Consumer Law attorney in the Atlantic
Region continues the trend from last year of supplementing their
Consumer Law practice primarily with Bankruptcy work.
The average Atlantic Consumer Law firm employs 2 paralegals whose
median billable hourly rate is $137 and 55% of all Atlantic paralegals have a
billable hourly rate between $100 and $174. In this region, 24% of
Consumer Law firms report they employ no paralegal support at all.
57.2% of all Atlantic Consumer Law attorneys (regardless of all other
factors) have a billable hourly rate above $325 and the average rate was
$347, up from last year’s average rate of $336.
The median Atlantic Attorney hourly rate is $350, a significant
increase from last year’s $300 but not where it was two years ago (at $412).
The median 25% Atlantic Attorney hourly rate (the point at which 25% of
all Atlantic survey participants reported an hourly rate lower than this
number) is $275. The median 75% Atlantic Attorney hourly rate is $412.
18.2% of Atlantic survey participants reported an hourly rate higher than
$425.
43

The typical Atlantic Consumer Law firm lawyer has not changed their
hourly rate in the last 14.8 months.

44

Summary Profile of the California Region
This section summarizes key statistics derived from the survey when
viewed from the California regional approach. Emphasis here is on the
average Consumer Law attorney in the California without regard for any
specific survey factor.
The typical California Consumer Law attorney is in a small office of 4
or fewer practitioners (75.7%, up from last year’s 63.9%) and has been
practicing law for 13 years (same result as last year). Although 71.6% of
survey participants reported that 90% or more of their practice was
devoted to Consumer Law, 77% reported that Consumer Law represented
the largest area of their practice time with the practice supplemented in
largest part by Bankruptcy work, joining a national trend since the last
survey results were reported.
The average California Consumer Law firm employs 1 paralegal
whose median billable hourly rate is $137 (same as last year). 46% of all
California paralegals have a billable hourly rate between $75 and 149. In
the last survey 70% of paralegals billed in that range. There has been an
upward shift in billable paralegal rates, with 18% of California paralegals
now billing between $150 and $174. In this region, 25% of Consumer Law
firms report they employ no paralegal support at all.
84.7% of all California Consumer Law attorneys (regardless of all
other factors) have a billable hourly rate above $325 and the average rate
was $496, slightly up for each of the last two surveys.
The median California Attorney hourly rate is $412, up from last
year’s $362. The median 25% California Attorney hourly rate (the point at
which 25% of all California survey participants reported an hourly rate
lower than this number) is $362. The median 75% California Attorney
hourly rate is $487. Only 27.7%of California survey participants reported
an hourly rate higher than $475 and 15.3% reported an hourly rate higher
than $575.
The typical California Consumer Law firm lawyer changed their
hourly rate in the last 12 months.

45

Summary Profile of the Florida Region
This section summarizes key statistics derived from the survey when
viewed from the Florida regional approach. Emphasis here is on the
average Consumer Law attorney in the Florida without regard for any
specific survey factor.
The typical Florida Consumer Law attorney is in a small office of 4 or
fewer practitioners (80.9%, an increase from last year’s 70.6%) and has
been practicing law for 14 years. Although 48.9% of survey participants
reported that 90% or more of their practice was devoted to Consumer Law,
57.4% reported that Consumer Law represented the largest area of their
practice time with the practice supplemented in largest part by Bankruptcy
work.
The average Florida Consumer Law firm employs 1.8 paralegals
whose median billable hourly rate is $75 (down for the second year in a
row) and 51.6% of all Florida paralegals have a billable hourly rate between
$75 and $99. Notably Florida firms also employ the highest percentage of
paralegal support, with just 17% of Consumer Law firms having no
paralegal support at all.
44.4% of all Florida Consumer Law attorneys (regardless of all other
factors) have a billable hourly rate above $325 and the average rate was
$317, nearly the same as last year’s average rate of $320.
The median Florida Attorney hourly rate is $317, up from last year’s
reported $287. The median 25% Florida Attorney hourly rate (the point at
which 25% of all Florida survey participants reported an hourly rate lower
than this number) is $250. The median 75% Florida Attorney hourly rate is
$374 (same as last year). Only 8.8% of Florida survey participants reported
an hourly rate higher than $425.
The typical Florida Consumer Law firm lawyer has not changed their
hourly rate in the last 15.3 months.

46

Summary Profile of the Mid West Region
This section summarizes key statistics derived from the survey when
viewed from the Mid West regional approach. Emphasis here is on the
average Consumer Law attorney in the Mid West without regard for any
specific survey factor.
The typical Mid West Consumer Law attorney is in a small office of 4
or fewer practitioners (75.2%, about the same as last year) and has been
practicing law for 18 years. Although 53.1% of survey participants reported
that 90% or more of their practice was devoted to Consumer Law, 61.4%
reported that Consumer Law represented the largest area of their practice
time with the practice supplemented in largest part by Bankruptcy work.
Although 25.5% of Mid West Consumer Law firms employ no
paralegal support, the average firm employs 1.7 paralegals whose median
billable hourly rate is $112 (up from last year’s $105) and 60.6% of all Mid
West paralegals have a billable hourly rate between $75 and 149 (again an
increase from last year). In this region, 26% of Consumer Law firms report
they employ no paralegal support at all.
51.8% of all Mid West Consumer Law attorneys (regardless of all
other factors) have a billable hourly rate between $200 and $324 and the
average rate was $276, down from last year’s average rate of $293.
The median Mid West Attorney hourly rate is $300, up from $262
last year). The median 25% Mid West Attorney hourly rate (the point at
which 25% of all Mid West survey participants reported an hourly rate
lower than this number) is $250. The median 75% Mid West Attorney
hourly rate is $375. Only 9% of Mid West survey participants reported an
hourly rate higher than $500.
The typical Mid West Consumer Law firm lawyer has not changed
their hourly rate in the last 13 months.

47

Summary Profile of the New York Region
This section summarizes key statistics derived from the survey when
viewed from the New York regional approach. Emphasis here is on the
average Consumer Law attorney in the New York without regard for any
specific survey factor.
The typical New York Consumer Law attorney is in a small office of 4
or fewer practitioners (59.4%, a decrease from last year’s 87.5%) and has
been practicing law for 14.1 years (a substantial drop from last year’s 32
years of practice). Although 40.6% of survey participants reported that 90%
or more of their practice was devoted to Consumer Law, 62.5% reported
that Consumer Law represented the largest area of their practice time with
the practice supplemented in largest part by “Other” work.
The average New York Consumer Law firm employs 2 paralegals
whose median billable hourly rate is $100 (up from last year’s $82 rate)
and 76.2% of all New York paralegals have a billable hourly rate between
$75 and 124. In the New York region, 22% of the firms report using no
paralegal support at all.
47.8% of all New York Consumer Law attorneys (regardless of all
other factors) have a billable hourly rate above $325 but the average rate
was $262, down substantially from last year’s average rate of $386.
The median New York Attorney hourly rate is $300, down from last
year’s median of $387. The median 25% New York Attorney hourly rate
(the point at which 25% of all New York survey participants reported an
hourly rate lower than this number) is $249. The median 75% New York
Attorney hourly rate is $362. 14.8% of New York survey participants
reported an hourly rate higher than $425.
New York Consumer Law firm lawyers made their last hourly rate
change in the last 14 months.

48

Summary Profile of the North East Region
This section summarizes key statistics derived from the survey when
viewed from the North East regional approach. Emphasis here is on the
average Consumer Law attorney in the North East without regard for any
specific survey factor.
The typical North East Consumer Law attorney is in a small office of 4
or fewer practitioners (73.2%, only a slight increase from last year’s 71.4%)
and has been practicing law for 17.7 years (down from last year’s 20 years
of practice). Although 53.7% of survey participants reported that 90% or
more of their practice was devoted to Consumer Law, 68.3% reported that
Consumer Law represented the largest area of their practice time with the
practice supplemented in largest part by General Practice work.
The average North East Consumer Law firm employs 1.1 paralegals
whose median billable hourly rate is $112. Although 43.1% of firms in this
region report no paralegal support at all, 59% of the firms using paralegals
have a billable hourly rate greater than $100. In this region, 34% of
Consumer Law firms report they employ no paralegal support at all.
39.5% of all North East Consumer Law attorneys (regardless of all
other factors) have a billable hourly rate above $325 and the average rate
was $311, down slightly from last year’s average rate of $330.
The median North East Attorney hourly rate is $287, down from last
year’s $337. The median 25% North East Attorney hourly rate (the point at
which 25% of all North East survey participants reported an hourly rate
lower than this number) is $212. The median 75% North East Attorney
hourly rate is $387, but 10.5% of North East survey participants reported
an hourly rate higher than $475.
The typical North East Consumer Law firm lawyer has not changed
their hourly rate in the last 15.3 months.

49

Summary Profile of the Ohio Region
This section summarizes key statistics derived from the survey when
viewed from the Ohio regional approach. Emphasis here is on the average
Consumer Law attorney in Ohio without regard for any specific survey
factor.
The typical Ohio Consumer Law attorney is in a small office of 4 or
fewer practitioners (69.2%, a decrease from last year) and has been
practicing law for 19 years. Although 36.5% of survey participants reported
that 90% or more of their practice was devoted to Consumer Law, 44.2%
reported that Consumer Law represented the largest area of their practice
time with the practice supplemented in largest part by Bankrupty work.
Although 23% of Ohio Consumer Law firms employ no paralegal
support, the average firm employs 1.6 paralegals whose median billable
hourly rate is $98 and 71.4% of all Ohio paralegals have a billable hourly
rate between $50 and 124.
44% of all Ohio Consumer Law attorneys (regardless of all other
factors) have a billable hourly rate between $200 and $274 and the average
rate was $264, virtually the same as the last survey report of $263.
The median Ohio Attorney hourly rate is $250. The median 25% Ohio
Attorney hourly rate (the point at which 25% of all Ohio survey participants
reported an hourly rate lower than this number) is $212. The median 75%
Ohio Attorney hourly rate is $312. Only 10% of Ohio survey participants
reported an hourly rate higher than $400.
The typical Ohio Consumer Law firm lawyer has not changed their
hourly rate in the last 16.4 months.

50

Summary Profile of the Pacific Region
This section summarizes key statistics derived from the survey when
viewed from the Pacific regional approach. Emphasis here is on the average
Consumer Law attorney in the Pacific without regard for any specific survey
factor.
The typical Pacific Consumer Law attorney is in a small office of 4 or
fewer practitioners (71.1%, an increase from last year’s 60%) and has been
practicing law for 20.8 years. 40.5% of all Pacific region Consumer Law
attorneys have been practicing 31 years or more. Although only 39.5% of
survey participants reported that 90% or more of their practice was
devoted to Consumer Law, 52.6% reported that Consumer Law represented
the largest area of their practice time with the practice supplemented in
largest part by Bankruptcy work, which seems to be the national trend for
Consume Law practitioners.
The average Pacific Consumer Law firm employs 1.9 paralegals whose
median billable hourly rate is $100 (down slightly from last year’s $106)
and 92.3% of all Pacific Region paralegals have a billable hourly rate
between $75 and 149. It is notable that 31.6% of all Consumer Law firms in
the Pacific Region have no paralegal support.
31.6% of all Pacific Consumer Law attorneys (regardless of all other
factors) have a billable hourly rate above $325 and the average rate was
$303, up from last year’s average rate of $256.
The median Pacific Attorney hourly rate is $300, up slightly from last
year’s $262 median. The median 25% Pacific Attorney hourly rate (the
point at which 25% of all Pacific survey participants reported an hourly rate
lower than this number) is $2150 compared with $212 in the last survey.
The median 75% Pacific Attorney hourly rate is $350, compared with $312
previously. Only 10.5% of Pacific survey participants reported an hourly
rate higher than $400.
The typical Pacific Consumer Law firm lawyer changed their hourly
rate in the last 16.8 months.

51

Summary Profile of the South Region
This section summarizes key statistics derived from the survey when
viewed from the South regional approach. Emphasis here is on the average
Consumer Law attorney in the South Region without regard for any specific
survey factor.
The typical South Region Consumer Law attorney is in a small office
of 4 or fewer practitioners (89.2%, nearly the same as in the last survey
results) and has been practicing law for 17.6 years (up from last year’s 13
years of practice but still not up to the 18 years in practice level achieved in
2007). Although 43.2% of survey participants reported that 90% or more of
their practice was devoted to Consumer Law, 55.4% reported that
Consumer Law represented the largest area of their practice time with the
practice supplemented in largest part by Bankruptcy work.
The average South Region Consumer Law firm employs 1.4 paralegals
whose median billable hourly rate is $87 (up from $60 reported in the last
survey) and 68.3% of all South Region paralegals have a billable rate
between $50 and $100. Notably, in the South Region 44.6% of Consumer
Law firms employ no paralegal support, the largest percentage reported by
any region in this year’s survey.
69.7% of all South Region Consumer Law attorneys (regardless of all
other factors) have a billable hourly rate above $250 and the average rate
was $267, up from the last survey results which reported an average rate of
$248.
The median South Region Attorney hourly rate is $262, up from last
year’s median of $237. The median 25% South Region Attorney hourly rate
(the point at which 25% of all South Region survey participants reported an
hourly rate lower than this number) is $212. The median 75% South Region
Attorney hourly rate is $312. Only 4.5% of South Region survey
participants reported an hourly rate higher than $400. The ceiling for
reported hourly rates has gone down from last year’s $475.
The typical South Region Consumer Law firm lawyer changed their
hourly rate in the last 16.5 months.

52

Summary Profile of the Texas Region
This section summarizes key statistics derived from the survey when
viewed from the Texas regional approach. Emphasis here is on the average
Consumer Law attorney in the Texas without regard for any specific survey
factor.
The typical Texas Consumer Law attorney is in a small office of 4 or
fewer practitioners (85.3% of respondents this year, compared with 100%
in the last survey) and has been practicing law for 19.1 years. Although
47.1% of survey participants reported that 90% or more of their practice
was devoted to Consumer Law, 55.9% reported that Consumer Law
represented the largest area of their practice time with the practice
supplemented in largest part by Bankruptcy work.
The average Texas Consumer Law firm employs 1.3 paralegals whose
median billable hourly rate is $87 (same for the last two survey reports)
and 41.7% of all Texas paralegals have a billable hourly rate between $75
and $124. In the last survey report for this region, nearly the exact same
percentage of paralegals had a billable rate between $75 and $149,
indicating a shrinking of the hourly rate has occurred. In this region, 29%
of Consumer Law firms report they employ no paralegal support at all.
66.7% of all Texas Consumer Law attorneys (regardless of all other
factors) have a billable hourly rate above $300 (in the last survey it was
only 30.8%) and the average hourly rate was $320, up from the last suvey’s
reported average hourly rate of $305 which was itself up from the prior
survey report of $296, indicating a steady but small upward trend.
The median Texas Attorney hourly rate is $312, up from the last
survey’s reported $287, which was itself up from the prior survey’s
reported $275. This is another indication of a steady upward trend. The
median 25% Texas Attorney hourly rate (the point at which 25% of all
Texas survey participants reported an hourly rate lower than this number)
is $275. The median 75% Texas Attorney hourly rate is $375. 27.3% of
Texas survey participants reported an hourly rate higher than $350. In the
last survey, only 4.3% of all survey participants reported an hourly rate
higher than $325. This is more evidence of the overall upward trend in this
region and is a stronger indication than seen in any other of the 12 regions
53

in the national report.
The typical Texas Consumer Law firm lawyer has not changed their
hourly rate in the last 14.9 months.

54

Summary Profile of the US Territories Region
This section summarizes key statistics derived from the survey when
viewed from the US Territories regional approach. Emphasis here is on the
average Consumer Law attorney in the US Territories Region without
regard for any specific survey factor.
The typical US Territories Region Consumer Law attorney is in a
small office of 4 or fewer practitioners (100%) and has been practicing law
for 14.9 years. Although 43.5% of survey participants reported that 90% or
more of their practice was devoted to Consumer Law, 91.3% reported that
Bankurptcy work represented the largest area of their practice time with
the practice supplemented in largest part by Consumer Law work.
The average US Territories Region Consumer Law firm employs .41
paralegal whose median billable hourly rate is $62 (down from the last
survey) and 63.6% of all US Territories Region paralegals have a billable
hourly rate above $50). In this region, 35% of Consumer Law firms report
they employ no paralegal support at all.
43.4% of all US Territories Region Consumer Law attorneys
(regardless of all other factors) have a billable hourly rate between $175
and $275. The average rate was $175, down from the last survey’s average
rate of $275.
The median US Territories Region Attorney hourly rate is $162, down
from the last survey. The median 25% US Territories Region Attorney
hourly rate (the point at which 25% of all US Territories Region survey
participants reported an hourly rate lower than this number) is $155. The
median 75% US Territories Region Attorney hourly rate is $212. Only 13%
of US Territories Region survey participants reported an hourly rate higher
than $250.
The typical US Territories Region Consumer Law firm lawyer has not
changed their ho rly rate in the last 20 months.

55

Summary Profile of the West Region
This section summarizes key statistics derived from the survey when
viewed from the West regional approach. Emphasis here is on the average
Consumer Law attorney in the West Region without regard for any specific
survey factor.
The typical West Region Consumer Law attorney is in a small office of
4 or fewer practitioners (80.6%) and has been practicing law for 14.6 years.
Although 53.3% of survey participants reported that 90% or more of their
practice was devoted to Consumer Law, 69.4% reported that Consumer
Law represented the largest area of their practice time with the practice
supplemented in largest part by Bankruptcy work.
The average West Region Consumer Law firm employs 3 paralegals
whose median billable hourly rate is $99 (down from the last survey report)
and 47.4% of all West Region paralegals have a billable hourly rate above
$100). In this region, 30% of Consumer Law firms report they employ no
paralegal support at all.
Half of all West Region Consumer Law attorneys (regardless of all
other factors) have a billable hourly rate between $275 and $325. The
average rate was $230 (down from last year’s average rate of $275.
The median West Region Attorney hourly rate is $287, same as the
last survey report. The median 25% West Region Attorney hourly rate (the
point at which 25% of all West Region survey participants reported an
hourly rate lower than this number) is $180. The median 75% West Region
Attorney hourly rate is $312. 9.6% of West Region survey participants
reported an hourly rate higher than $375.
The typical West Region Consumer Law firm lawyer has not changed
their hourly rate in the last 15.8 months.

56

8. Survey Techniques
Surveys are widely considered to be important tools in any evaluation
process. There are fundamentally two types of surveys: open ended
questioning and closed ended questioning.
Open ended questions allow the responder to respond in any manner
at all with no definite answer. Close ended questions provide a limited
number of possible answers from which a response can be chosen by the
responder. Because open ended questions allow for an unlimited response,
they can lead to a subjective analysis and the results are almost always
more difficult to interpret and quantify for analysis.
Close ended questions, however, lend their responses to easy
statistical analysis.
There are five types of close ended questions.
A Likert-scale question allows for responses on a scale and allows a
responder to state their feelings about an issue, such as strongly agree to
strongly disagree. Multiple choice questions allow the responder to select
from a finite number of responses. Ordinal questions ask the responder to
rate things in relation to each other, such as selecting the most important to
the least important responses about an issue. Categorical questions first
place the responder in a category and then poses questions based on those
categories, such as preceding questions with the initial inquiry of whether
the responder is male or female. Numerical questions are used when the
answer must be a real number.
Different types of questions are used in survey work so that different
types of results analyses may be conducted, but the most common survey
techniques are the numerical and the multiple choice question because of
the ease with which conclusions may be derived from the raw data.
This survey used numerical questions and one multiple choice
question. This allows for precise responses that can readily be cataloged
and statistically interpreted.

57

9. Cases Employing Use of Survey Data
Courts frequently consider and use survey data in decision making
involving fee disputes, finding it an economical and impartial means of
determining contested fee issues.
Cases using the US Consumer Law Attorney Fee Survey Report
when deciding attorney fee disputes in Consumer Law cases include the
following.
Decker v. Transworld Systems, Inc., 2009 WL 2916819,
N.D.Ill.,2009., September 01, 2009 (finding results in the 2007 United
States Consumer Law Attorney Fee Survey Report to be supported by the
Laffey Matrix”).
Krapf v Nationwide Credit, Inc., 2010 WL 4261444, C.D. Cal.,
October 21, 2010.
LaFountain, Jr v. Paul Benton Motors of North Carolina, LLC, 2010
WL 4457057, ED NC, November 5, 2010 (Senior US District Judge James
C. Fox specifically finds the US Consumer Law Attorney Fee Survey
Report to be persuasive, after rejecting the National Law Journal’s fee
survey and the US Attorney’s Laffey Matrix as unpersuasive in consumer
law cases: “The court does, however, find the evidence in the United States
Consumer Law Attorney Fee Survey to be persuasive”).
Livingston v. Cavalry Portfolio Services, LLC, 2009 WL 4724268,
N.D.Ohio,2009., December 02, 2009.
Paris v Regent Asset Management Solutions, Inc., 2010 WL 3910212,
S.D. Ohio, October 5, 2010.
Renninger v Phillips & Cohen Associates, Ltd, 2010 WL 3259417,
M.D. Fla., August 18, 2010.
Sandin v. United Collection Bureau, Inc., 2009 WL 2500408,
S.D.Fla.,2009., August 14, 2009.
Savage v NIC, Inc., 2010 WL 2347028, D. Ariz., June 9, 2010.
58

Shelago v. Marshall & Ziolkowski Enterprise, LLC, 2009 WL
1097534, D.Ariz.,2009., April 22, 2009.
Suleski v. Bryant Lafayette & Associates, 2010 WL 1904968,
E.D.Wis.,2010., May 10, 2010 (“However, the United States Consumer Law
Attorney Fee Survey for 2008-09 for the Midwest and California, see
www.consumerlaw.org/feesurvey (last visited May 7, 2010), supports the
reasonableness of the hourly rates sought by counsel in light of their
experience”).
Vahidy v. Transworld Systems, Inc., 2009 WL 2916825,
N.D.Ill.,2009., September 01, 2009 (finding results in the 2007 United
States Consumer Law Attorney Fee Survey Report to be “supported by the
Laffey Matrix”).
Wamsley v. Kemp, 2010 WL 1610734, S.D.Ohio,2010., April 20, 2010
(using both the national survey and the regional survey reports).

10. Additional Cases on Use of Survey Data
Additional considerations in using fee surveys may be relevant to a
court’s consideration in a particular case, including the following concepts
drawn from the illustrative cases below.
The cost of performing a fee survey may be recoverable in some
instances.
It is a matter of first impression that a fee applicant would hire another
attorney to conduct a survey on her behalf. We cannot forget that
Luessenhop has the burden of proving that her Fee Application is
based upon prevailing market rates and that she has the right to
present evidence to support the rate she believes to be prevailing.
Here, where we are required to weigh the presumptive prevailing
market rate district wide, further pondering the geographical distance
and economic disparities between the Plattsburgh and Albany
communities and Schneider's relatively limited access to those
attorneys who practice civil rights litigation in Albany, we acknowledge
that Luessenhop was left with little option but to hire Mishler, an
59

Albany attorney, to conduct a more comprehensive survey on her
behalf. Luessenhop seeks $787.50 for Mishler's endeavors, which
appears to be modest. Considering the amount of time this Court spent
to conduct a similar survey, we do not find this amount to be
unreasonable and will award it.
Luessenhop v. Clinton County, N.Y. 558 F.Supp.2d 247, 272
(N.D.N.Y.,2008).
While different attorney fee surveys may exist for the Court’s
consideration, the question may be which “fee survey better served the
purpose of assessing the skills, experience and reputation of counsel” in a
particular case. Strohl Systems Group, Inc. v. Fallon, E.D.Pa., 2007, 2007
WL 4323008.
Moreover, a fee survey may be approved as probative evidence of the
reasonableness of an hourly rate. Taylor v. USF-Red Star Express, Inc.,
2005 WL 555371, E.D.Pa., 2005, March 8, 2005.
However, the results of an attorney fee survey may be merely a
starting point, a piece of evidence that still should be shown to apply in a
particular case. See, Ray v. Secretary of Dept. Of Health and Human
Services, 2006 WL 1006587, Fed.Cl., 2006, March 30, 2006.

60

11. Recommendations for Future Survey Data
As always, we welcome your suggestions for improvements to the survey as
we continue to gather useful information for Consumer Law practitioners in the
future. Please email your suggestions to [e-mail] or you may
mail them to Ronald L. Burdge, Esq., 2299 Miamisburg Centerville Road, Dayton,
Ohio 45459-3817.
Ronald L. Burdge, Editor

About the Editor
Ronald L. Burdge is the founder of Burdge Law Office Co LPA in Dayton,
Ohio. Mr. Burdge is in private practice in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana and
elsewhere by pro hac admission, and is a nationally known Consumer Law
attorney. For over a decade, Mr. Burdge has testified as an expert witness on
Consumer Law and Attorney Fee issues in numerous state and federal courts. He
is a member of the Total Practice Management Association.
He has authored numerous articles and lectured widely on Attorney Fee
issues and Consumer Law and Consumer Trial Practice, and is a member of the
American Society of Legal Writers and the Legal Writing Institute. Mr. Burdge
has also lectured widely at national and state Consumer Protection Law seminars
before attorneys, judges, and both public and business groups, and has testified
before the Ohio Legislature and its committees on Consumer Law issues.
He has served as Board Examiner for the National Board of Trial Advocacy
and has extensive Consumer Law trial and appellate experience in individual and
class action cases involving lenders, retail sales practices, defective products, and
warranty litigation. Since 2004, he remains the only Consumer Law attorney in
Ohio who has been named to Ohio Super Lawyer status by Law & Politics
Magazine and Thomson Reuters, and whose practice is entirely devoted to
Consumer Law work for consumers only. Thomson Reuters is the world’s leading
source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals In 2004, he was
named Trial Lawyer of the Year by the National Association of Consumer
Advocates and in 2010 he was elected to the Board of the National Association of
Consumer Advocates.
Copyright 2011
by R.L.Burdge, Burdge Law Office, Dayton, Ohio

61