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IN THE SUPERIOR COURT
OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
FILED
March 04, 2022 05:36 eM
ST-2021-RV-00005
TAMARA CHARLES
CLERK OF THE COURT
Exhibit 2
• • LexisNexis~
Legal Fees Cross New Mark: $1,500 an Hour
The Wall Street Journal
February 9, 2016 Tuesday
Copyright 2016 Factiva ®, from Dow Jones
All Rights Reserved
FACTIVA.
Copyright © 2016, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
Section: Pg. A1
Length: 861 words
Byline: By Sara Randazzo and Jacqueline Palank
Body
The day of the $1,500-an-hour lawyer has arrived.
Partners at some of the nation's top law firms are approaching -- and, in a few cases, surpassing -- that watershed
billing rate, making the $1,000-an-hour legal fees that once seemed so steep look quaint by comparison.
Despite low inflation and weak demand for legal services, rates at large corporate law firms have risen by 3% to 4%
a year since the economic downturn, according to Citi Private Bank's Law Firm Group.
"We just raise them every year," said John Altorelli, a finance lawyer at DLA Piper LLP in New York, who says the
firm has set his rate at more than $1,500 an hour. Mr. Altorelli, who filed for personal bankruptcy in 2014 to halt a
legal battle with the estate of his former law firm, Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, cracked the $1,000-an-hour mark a
decade ago. His fees have risen steadily ever since.
To soften the blow to clients, Mr. Altorelli does more than half his work on some kind of fixed-fee basis. "Using
hourly rates is really anachronistic, but we still do it," he said.
Legal Fees Cross New Mark: $1,500 an Hour
Raising rates ensures that law firms keep up with the competition and helps them wrest more money from clients,
who routinely demand discounts for all but the most sensitive work.
"If you think of the rules o
[…]