Bankruptcy filings are juicy nuggets that reveal the truth of Biglaw billing rates. Thanks to the transparency requirements of the federal bankruptcy system, we get regular windows into what elite law firms are actually charging their clients, numbers that would otherwise stay safely hidden behind confidentiality agreements and client relationships.
At this point, four-figure associate billing rates are table stakes at elite Biglaw firms. We’ve known since 2020 that Kirkland, Skadden, and Weil Gotshal had senior associates crossing the $1,000/hour mark, and the 2024 Real Rate Report confirmed that senior associate rates cresting $1,000 had become a genuine trend rather than an outlier.
But Davis Polk & Wardwell’s latest fee filing in the Spirit Airlines bankruptcy offers a data point worth pausing on, not because the number is shocking in isolation, but because of which associates are hitting it.
How Checkbox’s ‘Legal Front Door’ Can Transform Your Workflow
Leveraging agentic AI to triage, prioritize, and automate the law department inbox.
Davis Polk’s Eighth Monthly Fee Statement in the Spirit Aviation Holdings bankruptcy, covering April 2026, shows the firm billed a cool $4,740,975 in fees for the month, yes, nearly $5 million in a single month, at a blended hourly rate across all attorneys of $1,931.78. The partners, including lead restructuring partner Marshall Huebner at $2,935/hour, are priced right in line with where the market has been heading for some time. Unremarkable, as these things go.
What is worth noting, Davis Polk’s second-year associates are billing at $1,410/hour. That is a lot of money for some junior-ass associates. Hell, that’s almost as much as Spirit (RIP) charged for a checked bag.
To be clear, this isn’t a knock on the associates themselves — they didn’t set their own rates, and they’re presumably doing competent work under supervision. The point is what it says about how elite firms now price junior talent.
The creep has been relentless. Back in 2020, $1,000+ for any associate was news. By late 2024, 16 Am Law 50 firms had third-year associates over $1,000/hour, with Valeo Partners projecting half the Am Law 50 would be there by 2025. The firms with the highest overall rate cards have been consistently pulling the rest of the market upward. And as we noted in April, partner rates rose 5.1% on average in 2024, the second-highest jump on record, with no signs of client pushback meaningful enough to slow things down.
The Davis Polk filing is simply the next data point in an established trajectory. Yes, the price tag might be applied a year or two earlier in the career ladder than people might have expected (at least as per the chatter on social media). And $1,410 for a second-year is a lot, but it’s not some rogue outlier, it’s Davis Polk pricing its associates the way it prices everything: at the top of the market, because it can.
What Biglaw Can Learn From Personal Injury Firms
How a former insurance agent built a Houston injury practice around systems, empathy, and disciplined advocacy.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Bluesky @Kathryn1