Yes I do. I've had some lawsuits in the USA, some in Europe and the cost of the US lawsuits absolutely dwarfed the ones in Europe.

It's not that $500/hour isn't 'insane' (it actually is, but that goes for the profession as a whole), it's how much time ends up being billed for a case and US lawyers really are experts at running out the clock, and working the system to the point where the legal fees themselves become a weapon in the case (see the excellent examples in this thread illustrating that).

Oh, and to add to this: I also had the distinct feeling that in the US I was often billed at 'partner' rates when the work done was at 'paralegal' level and I always wondered what would happen if you were to audit a large legal office to see if there was more partner time billed than there was partner time to begin with.

Seems high to me. I don't pay that much for a doctor, or a plumber, mechanic, etc.

You almost certainly pay far more than 68 an hour for a doctor! (How long are you actually with the doctor?). Plumbers and mechanics are paid at a significantly lower rate than doctors and lawyers!

The question was $500/hr. A 30 minute appointment is about $150. Still less than $500/hr with considerably more overhead.

Where did that $68/hr number come from?

I have no idea? Brain fart. doctors also get paid by the procedure, so charge less for simple office visits (it’s complicated because of how medical billing works)

I don't know. I'm an expert (at some things, anyway), and I make $68 an hour. Maybe an attorney isn't billing 100% of the time, but if they billed six hours a week they'd make more than I do. That feels like a lot of money.

I assume that's your wage from an employer, and that's a totally different number. If that's your freelance fee, you are seriously being underpaid. After paying taxes, fees, insurance (both personal and business), anything less than $200/hour for skilled labor (not even expert professional) is a steal.

That's a good point; I'm not a contractor. I doubt my total compensation comes anywhere close to $200 an hour, though. When I was briefly a contractor last year I believe the total amount paid from the contractee to the contracting firm was closer to $150 an hour.

I think my pay is normal for my title ("ML engineer"), location (Cincinnati), and experience (master's, 10 years in the workforce). Though I wouldn't turn down a substantial pay raise ...

No, your total comp is probably no near 200, but what if your company was farming your work out? How much would they charge the client for your time? When my small company brings in consultants, it's usually at $100-150 per hour. $200 would be a tough sell, but it's not outside the realm of possiblitiy. $500 is a lot, but but lawyers usually produce results, and as described here, they don't get paid unless you do, so they have to make up that money somewhere.

A few years ago, we were billing at $98/hr total comp. This was for employees at the company for total cost to the company.

What region are you located in (approximately)? I have some intuitive idea that compensation differs according to location, but I haven't done any in-depth study into it.

I was a contractor from 2013-2018, though at that point I was more a generalist than I am now. I don't know what USAF paid my company for me but my take-home maxed at $29 an hour, so $98 would have been more than sufficient. With my paltry raise this year compared to inflation I'll be back to my old pay in real terms before you know it.