You might wonder if you read that correctly but yes, it’s true, Simpson Thacher are doing the legal work on behalf of the US Treasury at what equates to a whopping rate of approximately $80 (£46) per hour. Although the actual hourly rate was not given in the contract between the Treasury and the firm, the Wall Street Journal ’s Law Blog broke it down roughly as follows:

564 partner hours @ $120 = $67,680

376 counsel hours @ $100 = $37,600

1,692 associate hours @ $80 = $135,360

1,128 assistant hours @ $50 = $56,400

So it appears that the Treasury are getting their lawyers at a lower hourly rate than their BMW mechanics these days…

Although many commentators consider these figures to be almost pro bono, it is unlikely that the firm will lose out in the long run – the free publicity and future benefits cannot be underestimated.

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