London judge slams New York law firm Cleary Gottlieb for charging more than £1,100 an hour

A London judge has slammed US law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton for charging its clients more than £1,100 an hour.

In a short ruling today, Court of Appeals judge Lord Justice Males spoke out against the white shoe law firm, after it charged Korean electronics company LG as much as $1,475.75 (£1,131.75) an hour.

The judge said there is “no justification at all” for charging so much, as he noted that Cleary Gottlieb’s rates are “substantially in excess of the guideline rates.”

The judge noted that firms must offer a “clear and compelling justification” for charging more than guideline rates, as he claimed the New York firm had failed to put forward a proper reason for charging the rates it did.  

He also claimed the case itself had been a relatively straightforward one, as he argued the work carried out had not been worth more than £1,100 an hour.

“This was a one-day appeal, where the only issue was the appropriate forum for the trial, the documentation was not heavy, and the amount claimed (£900,000) was modest by the standards of commercial cases,” the judge said.

The comments come after Cleary Gottlieb last year upped pay for newly qualified lawyers in its London offices to £140,000 a year. Partners in the US firm take home more than £2.6m per annum.