1. Ask Nermin
Questions from the No. 22 Community (my lifetime advice community for lawyers)
Question:
It's almost the end of the year. I know you always talk about increasing your rates at the end of each year and I want to do that. I'm thinking about going from $350 to $400/ hour. I am nervous about this because there's a few attorneys with more experience still charging $300. And I'm adjacent to a large city, my office isn't in that city. Does this seem like a reasonable rate?
Nermin's Answer:
In short, yes, it is reasonable. But have you done the backwards math yet on if $400 gets you to your revenue goal?
If not, here's what to do: If you want to make $400k (keeping the numbers very simple here), you need to bill 1,000 hours at $400/hour. If to date in 2025 (Jan to Oct) you've billed 500 hours, then $400k is probably not going to happen unless you've got a solid marketing team behind you to help you bill another 500 hours.
First, figure out what your annual revenue goal is (ex: $400k or $4 million). Then figure out how much you need to bill based on that hourly rate ($4,000,000/$400 hourly rate). Is the number of hours billed realistic for your firm? If not, then try taking the hourly rate higher. That will get you closer to your goal revenue number.
I know you're thinking: Nermin, what does my hourly rate have to do with what I want to make for the year?
Honestly, we do this to take the emotion out of it. Because if we don't stick to the numbers (how many hours do I need to bill at $400 to make $400k) then you're going to get stuck in these questions: "How can I charge more than Susie/Bob who has more experience than I do?" or "The clients are barely paying $350, how am I going to charge $400?" or "Do I know what I'm doing to be able to charge $400?"
If I approach it from the "here's what you're worth, your x years of experience, your skill set" you'll talk yourself out of that higher rate. But if I say this is what you need to charge if you want to make $400k or $4 million, you're 99% more likely to follow through with increasing your rate.
Decision:
Yes, increasing your rate from $350 to $400/hour is reasonable — but only if it aligns with your revenue goal and the hours you can realistically bill. Your rate may need to be higher than $400, though.
Why:
Most lawyers set rates based on emotion or comparison (“But Susie has more experience” or “Clients won’t pay more”), not math. When you calculate your rate backwards from your revenue goal, you remove the emotion and focus on facts.
Do Next:
- Write down your 2026 revenue goal.
- Divide that goal by your proposed hourly rate to calculate the number of billable hours required.
- Compare that number to your actual hours billed this year, is it realistic?
- If not, increase your hourly rate until the hours match with what’s achievable.
- Commit to the revenue driven rate, not the emotion driven one.
Deadline:
Before January 1.
Proof:
Post your 2026 revenue goal, target hourly rate, and total billable hours math in #wins so we can check your logic before you announce your new rate.
2. The Playbook
Strategy bits + easy action
In the last month, my team and I have spent 40+ hours interviewing 20+ candidates for two roles: (1) marketing specialists that we train and place into law firms after hiring, and (2) operations experts with Zapier and automation experience.
At first, we were hiring people based on their resume. We'd ask them to submit a project or a video of them building an automation or editing a reel, and we’d evaluate them based on that. Then, once the employee started, we felt like we’d been duped. We talked internally about how they submitted a reel that was edited perfectly or an automation that actually worked.
Did they lie? Did they submit someone else’s work? What happened?
We’ve had to get creative about interviewing in this AI era. Here’s what we do now and what I think you should do as well in your law firm.
Before, we’d let people submit projects to us without knowing who actually did the work.
Now, we schedule a live interview where we watch the candidate work on a project in real time. For our marketing specialist role, we ask them to draft newsletters, write captions, and come up with reel ideas for specific legal practice areas. We watch how they prompt ChatGPT and how they take constructive feedback. We rate them both on their work product and on their ability to take feedback.
Our hiring has gotten significantly better. We’re bringing on people who actually know what they’re doing and we know that if they can take feedback well, they’re going to fit in great with the team.
What fascinates me is that before we do this live call, Paul, my right hand and operations manager, sends an email that basically says: “We’re going to do a live screen-share assessment, so please have the tools ready (Zapier, Airtable, CapCut, etc.).” We’ve had people schedule the interview and then cancel an hour or a day before. This happens 50–60% of the time.
Do I think an emergency actually came up? Maybe once or twice. But the rest? They canceled because they were probably fibbing, saying they could use these tools when, in reality, they don’t have enough experience to be comfortable using them while someone is watching.
Here’s how you can take what I learned and apply it in your law firm:
- Schedule an interview with a paralegal/associate attorney.
- Let them know that during the interview, you’ll ask them to share their screen so you can see how they use MyCase or Clio, or even how they redline or put together a petition (or another relevant document). Have the petition/document you want redlined ready to go, so you’re not stumbling around.
The candidates who truly don’t know what they’re doing will cancel the interview, and the ones who do will dazzle you.
Does this guarantee the best hire every time? No, nothing can. But this does reduce the risk and gets us more qualified candidates.
3. In the Margins
Unfiltered thoughts that are sometimes unhinged.
This week on LinkedIn, I posted a video about Alex Spiro, partner at Quinn Emanuel, who charges $3,000/hour.
Ready for this? I don’t think it’s high enough.
If Alex helps Kim Kardashian save $100,000,000 in brand reputation, then yes, $3,000/hour is the minimum she’d be willing to pay.
If Alex helps Jeff Bezos with a $50,000,000 AI acquisition, $3,000/hour is a bargain.
Now, are there other attorneys who can do this work for less? Of course. But that’s not what Kim or Jeff care about.
What they want is someone who has their back, looks out for their best interests, and shows up again and again.
Some of you have stopped reading because you’re thinking:
1) I don't work in Big Law
2) I don't have clients like Kim or Jeff
3) I do XYZ practice area, so I can't charge that much
But hang on...there are business attorneys who still only charge $300/hour. And there are business attorneys like Alex who charge $3,000/hour.
Is the difference really the kinds of clients they work with and nothing else?
No. Because I guarantee you that if I dropped an Amazon-type client into your inbox tomorrow, you'd charge your current rate ($400/hour or $500/hour). So it's not about the type of client.
Is it because Alex has a firm like Quinn Emmanuel backing him?
No. Because I work with Big Law Founders who charge as much or more than when they were in Big Law.
Then what is it?
It's this: Alex understands his value (saving each company/founder millions of dollars). He bases his rate as a percentage of that value saved.
Most of you decide your rate based on what someone else is charging or fear that you can't convince your client to pay what your value truly is. I'd argue that your current rate is tied to your comfort level, not your value.
How did you come up with your fees? Was it based on your value or your fear?
4. Penny for your Thoughts
Your turn — weigh in and see how other lawyers think, too.
| Do you know what your rates will be for 2026? |
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Thanks for letting me help you build something better. Now go make it real.
Nermin
How we can work together:
No. 22 - A lifetime of advice from me. Email me: nermin@wearews.com because we're on a wait list. Price is $7,500 if you join in October, then $8,500 in November, and $9,500 in December.
Hire a Marketing Strategist - https://calendly.com/nerminjasani/law-firm-growth-marketing. Starts at $5k a month - 2 marketing specialists, 1 manager, 1 CMO + 2 automated systems/funnels to follow up with leads/PNC's. If you get 2 lost leads to hire you, that's 2 new clients. It pays for itself in the first month.
1:1 Consulting - https://calendly.com/nerminjasani/strategic-law-firm-growth-consultation
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Nermin | Wildly Successful by choice, not chance Nermin@wearews.com |