A higher than should be otherwise expected number of smaller specialist firms and a historically competitive market sees Brisbane’s IP & TMT lawyers as some of the most affordable in the country.
Hourly Rates
With some 57% of the market pricing themselves under $500 per hour (and many of the market’s stronger practitioners to be found within this pricing band) there’s significant value to be found amongst Brisbane’s IP & TMT lawyers.
Above this band of affordability, Brisbane’s IP lawyers still fail to come close the lofty pricing of all IP & TMT lawyers in other Australian states (excluding South Australia). A further 24% of the market’s IP & TMT lawyers price themselves in the still affordable “sweet spot” of between $500-$600 per hour which leaves 81% of the market sitting under $600 per hour.
Indeed it’s only a handful of individuals/firms who manage to significantly breach the $600 per hour mark and while it may be somewhat obvious who falls within the remaining 19% of the market who price themselves within such a bracket it’s not our role to divulge firm or practitioner hourly rates.
Alternative Pricing
As would be expected in a market with affordable hourly rates pricing competitiveness is also reflected by way of innovation in terms of moving away from the hourly rate.
Some 91% of firms use models other than an hourly rate and most look to use pretty much any model the client wants including fixed price, capped fees, performance based fees and various derivations and combinations of all models. That said the use of retainers, relatively common across IP lawyers from other states saw a comparatively low usage in Queensland with only 6% of firms using such a model.