7. Wolters Kluwer shows rate dynamics are regional, role-specific and negotiable

Wolters Kluwer’s LegalVIEW-based study draws from more than $200 billion in invoice data and reports sharp regional contrasts, including top-25 partner rate growth of 6.3% mean in 2025, New York partner and associate benchmarks, and double-digit increases in some regional markets. This is valuable for Inside Legal Economics because it supports a more sophisticated pricing conversation than “rates are up”: geography, practice, role, scarcity and client leverage all matter.