Difficult market conditions combined with an active and aggressive “mid-tier” of firms continues to keep the pricing levels of Brisbane’s corporate lawyers substantially below that of other states.
Hourly Rates
With the mid-tier and many local firms finding comfort in the $500-$550 pricing level Brisbane sits on par with Adelaide when it comes to pricing it’s corporate lawyers. Certainly those firms who were traditionally called “top-tier” and the international firms set an hourly rate well above this level, however it’s still a substantial discount on what these firms charge in other jurisdictions.
In general the rule seems to be that regardless of the style of firm – the Brisbane office will charge $100-$150 per hour less than their Sydney and Melbourne counterparts and $100 per hour less than their Perth colleagues.
Brisbane Corporate Lawyers Pricing (Hourly Rates)
| Hourly Rate | Market Share |
|---|---|
| $400-$450 | 11% |
| $450-$500 | 3% |
| $500-$550 | 36% |
| $550-$600 | 10% |
| $600-$650 | 18% |
| $650-$700 | 14% |
| $700-$750 | 8% |
Alternative Pricing
Some 93% of Brisbane’s corporate lawyers have used a pricing method other than the hourly rate in the past 12 months. As is typically the case in other practice areas and/or jurisdictions fixed pricing (96%) and capped fees (88%) were the two most commonly used models.
50% of firms reported the use of a performance based fee however this was typically of the 80%/120% style arrangement depending upon deal completion.
39% of firms used retainer style agreements which is a similar percentage to that seen in other jurisdictions.