According to research commissioned by The Lawyer, hiring a partner at a top-tier Jersey law firm will cost, on average, between £475 and £575 per hour, while a partner at a similar firm in Guernsey will cost as much as £175 an hour less.
Guernsey lawyers cost “only” between £400 and £475 per hour, a potential saving of as much as £175, the law industry magazine and website notes.
“It should come as little surprise, considering that most Jersey and Guernsey firms are integrated, that comments from partners on the matter were not forthcoming,” the magazine adds, in a story posted on its website.
The article also notes that top-end partner rates at Jersey’s premiere firms have increased by 64% since 2003.
This “marginally outstrips the top-end rates of magic circle firms, which increased by 61 per cent at the top end, rising from £450 to £725 per hour over the same period.” Unlike those at the magic circle firms, hourly rates among the Jersey law firms did not fall in 2009.
