[T]he recession is over and disruption is far from an existential threat. It’s time for elite law to rediscover belief in the value it provides and start to raise rates as it did before the recession. Specifically, elite firms should:
1. Raise rates across the board.
2. Discount from the higher rates where necessary.
3. Increase rates more for partners.
4. Increase rates more for more distinct practices.
5. Exit, or leverage up, practices where realized rates (i.e. after discounting) don’t rise.
— Hugh A. Simons, former senior partner and executive committee member at The Boston Consulting Group and the former chief operating officer at Ropes & Gray, writing in The American Lawyer on what firms should do to deal with the new billing rate world order.