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Daily Inspiration Quote by Jay Alan Sekulow

"As a private lawyer, I could bill $750 an hour, but I don't"

About this Quote

It’s the kind of humblebrag engineered to preempt criticism before it lands. “I could bill $750 an hour” is a status marker masquerading as restraint: a way to claim elite-market value without having to prove it in the moment. The second clause, “but I don’t,” pivots instantly into moral theater. It positions Sekulow as someone who has opted out of maximum profit, implying public service, principled sacrifice, or at least a refusal to be the stereotype of the mercenary lawyer.

The subtext is defensive. In American legal culture, billing rates are shorthand for power and access, and high numbers trigger populist suspicion: Are you helping people or harvesting them? Sekulow’s construction answers that suspicion by reframing wealth as a foregone opportunity rather than an accumulated reality. It’s not “I’m expensive,” it’s “I’m worth it, and I’m choosing not to charge it.” That distinction matters rhetorically because it launders privilege into virtue.

Context sharpens the intent. Sekulow is not just any lawyer; he’s a high-profile conservative legal advocate and media presence, associated with major political and religious-right battles. In that ecosystem, credibility often depends on performing both insider competence (I could command top dollar) and outsider righteousness (I won’t exploit you). The line is calibrated for an audience that admires success but distrusts elites: it sells virtuosity and virtue in the same breath, a two-for-one that turns a fee schedule into a character argument.

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APA Style (7th ed.)
Sekulow, Jay Alan. (n.d.). As a private lawyer, I could bill $750 an hour, but I don't. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/as-a-private-lawyer-i-could-bill-750-an-hour-but-163455/

Chicago Style
Sekulow, Jay Alan. "As a private lawyer, I could bill $750 an hour, but I don't." FixQuotes. Accessed February 2, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/as-a-private-lawyer-i-could-bill-750-an-hour-but-163455/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"As a private lawyer, I could bill $750 an hour, but I don't." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/as-a-private-lawyer-i-could-bill-750-an-hour-but-163455/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.

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About the Author

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Jay Alan Sekulow (born June 10, 1956) is a Lawyer from USA.

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