Hourly rates continue to climb.

Seventy-eight percent of Florida lawyers who bill by the hour say their rate is $150 an hour or higher and the percentage of Florida lawyers who report they charge in excess of $200 has been steadily increasing, according to The Florida Bar's 2004 Economics and Law Office Management Survey.

The survey--which is taken every other year to keep lawyers informed on what their colleagues are doing in various areas of law office management--found that 50 percent of respondents to the 2004 survey now charge $200 or more per hour, compared with 42 percent who said they charged