About 6 months in as an associate in primarily commercial litigation. Have a feel for billable time on some matters, but certain types of motions or discovery requests I have almost no clue the “expected” time for something to be billed. Sometimes the partner will tell me an estimated time, but often they won’t. Is there a “cheat sheet” of sorts anyone has in terms of common billing times? Obviously no two are the same, but even just something to reference

My firm’s IT (especially system saving and file locating function) is so bad 😐😞 and they keep doing updates no one asked them for just to mess with the stuff we already got a hang of without doing anything about the issues we actually need fixed. Anyone else in a similar boat? Do you bill the client for the time it takes to fix the IT issue (or IT inefficiency generally, like time taken to find a file in a convoluted system)? Or is that supposed to be our non-billable time?

Does industry have billable hours? At the big 4, we are required to work a certain number of hours each week and if we spend too much time on anything we are questioned on why it took so long. Is that a thing when you go in industry?

How many billable hours do people in prosecution tend to average each month? I’ve gone through waves of feeling like my billable hours requirement is reasonable to feeling like I’m drowning and can’t possibly do it for that long.

When your boss gives you 48 hours (clock hours not billable hours) to produce a viable objection to a MTD/compel arbitration in a complex commercial lit case, which is not my practice area, what kind of result is he expecting? From scratch, no template.

Hi can someone give me an estimate of what a pediatric occupational therapist should be making in a city with a high cost of living. No benefits. Between 30 to 40 billable hours, documentation time unpaid etc. Independent contractor role. Practicing for over 5 years.

It’s hard to trust the partners/leadership when they want us to return to office as being better when we increase offshoring? Also, the pressure on billable hours when all that really matters is how much our fixed labor costs vs. how much we can bill (which is usually fixed fee or at least a range) and the fixed labor costs of offshoring is significantly cheaper so the hours don’t matter. Am I mistaken by this viewpoint?

What are firm’s known billable requirements? Is there a ramp up period?

Does anyone have experience working for a ALSP? How does compensation work (pay and benefits)? Are you an employee or technically an IC? Do you have billable requirements like at a firm? How do you think it prepared you to potentially move in house? I'm currently at a firm but thinking of taking a position with an ALSP but my goal is to go in house.

Looking to leave a govt job for a junior attorney role in a small workers comp defense firm. I have no experience in workers comp. How easy is it to learn the work and make 1850 billable hours? What future opportunities does this experience give?

Weber folks! At what point do you become eligible for a yearly bonus and how is your bonus determined? Any tie to billable hours?

How do firms give bonuses to associate attorneys? Quarterly, monthly, annually? What is a bonus based on? Money recieved, billable hours, etc?

I'm looking to set up a bonus structure for a new associate.

BONUS. What’s amount bonus do you get, and how often? Including bonus structure (ex for meeting billable hours), firm/boss randomly bonuses you, Christmas bonus, etc)

Is it just me or the average billable work in infrastructure transactions has blown off steam in the last couple of weeks?

Are any other paralegals struggling with billable hour requirements? I have 5 years of experience in corporate transactions, M&A, and real estate work, and have never had billable hour requirements. I'm in a new job now where I do and I'm nowhere near meeting them. I'm getting a lot more admin work than billable work, and it's stressing me out.

I currently work at a medium sized firm and have about two years experience in personal injury litigation. The billable hours and lack of work life balance are really getting to me and I am looking to switch to something else out of litigation, preferably in house. I am also looking to relocate to a different state. How do I go about properly marketing myself to companies that might not take my relocation and minimal experience seriously?

So I was a 5th year associate in nyc making 100 k a year 2k billable hours.. I decided to leave for the role Im in now.. my old countered to keep me at 115k (which was like pulling teeth for them) but I left anyways now I find out that they offered a 7th year 150 k and a partner title should I be offended that they didn’t even try more with me

With the various RTO rumors/fear out there and in the absence of spring/summer/fall(?) bonuses. Would you consider coming into the office more if your firm offered bonuses linked to days in the office (coupled with billable targets, of course)?

Had 2 hours of billable work today 💀

I have an interview with Korn Ferry for an associate principal role and am curious about others’ experiences have been with work-life balance here. Also, I have an idea of what I should be compensated in this type of role, but any insights on how they pay compared to others would be helpful. Are you traveling during the pandemic or have client interactions been virtual? Lastly, if you are a consultant here, are you on billable hours? My current consulting role is not - so this would be new.

Does anyone run a business in addition to their firm? I’m a solo and I’m doing pretty well with about 60-70 billable hours a month. Though that leaves a lot of downtime. Curious if anyone has any second businesses that require about 20 hours a week. Not looking for passive income or franchise ideas though.

Delegation can be hard! What helps you?

Does anyone have any book recommendations for information on buying a house?

Anyone know of great career listservs to get on? I find listservs to be great resources and would love to be connected to more.

I started in my first SDR position in a small SaaS start up few months ago. I am the only SDR and their first ever.
The base salary is ok but I haven’t received any commission structure up to this day.
I book an average of 3-5 demos per week. People always show up, but the thing that worries me is that I do not have a way to track how many meetings I book in our CRM,and to be honest I feel like I didn’t get the best training overall. Should I start looking somewhere else? Thoughts?

Thanks

Accenture folks...What is the biggest advantage to delivering a PROSCI change management approach vs what we currently do with FORM?

Is it possible for someone with anxiety to have a career at MBB? Anyone currently in this situation? How do you cope?

Anyone subletting this summer?

Best place to score moving boxes?

Hello! I’m from South Carolina and I was wondering if there was any media companies/ productions that are currently hiring PA’s or entry level workers fully remote? I would love to work in LA more than anything, but I can’t afford to move there which means I’ll just have to stick it out in South Carolina for some time. But unfortunately, South Carolina doesn’t have many opportunities in the media/entertainment industry. Any leads, tips, or advice is much appreciated. Thank you!

Looking for possible Google referral, interested in positions out of Reston VA and Washington DC ( security clearance, DoD work)

Does anyone in the forum run a distillery business? I am looking to start a bourbon business. Would consider buying an existing business. Would you contract distill or build your own?

What is EY Edge in FSO? What do you do and what are the hours like?

Have service related PTSD or anxiety effected your clearance level at all?

What’s the total comp for Principal at BCG? base + bonus etc. Searched online and on the bowl but no clear answers. Are there different levels to
Principal and how does the comp change across levels?

Hi guys , are there any apps like shuttl operational in Hyderabad?

Recently lateraled as a public defender in HCOL area to ID in LCOL area for $$$. I’ve been at the job a little over a month. My concerns are that I’m getting very little guidance or mentorship, and I’m worried about not hitting billable hours (2000 requirement but I am just over 80 for the first month). I am only in charge of a ~5 cases atm and struggle with figuring out the next steps, etc. I’ve met all my deadlines that have come up. Thoughts or advice?

I work in a firm that is known for litigation defense. I’ve been developing my own plaintiffs practice as well. I am able to pay the bills with my hourly defense work, which gives me time to focus on a handful of high value PI case a year on contingency. I was recently negotiating a case and was told part of the reason the claims rep/OC was jerking me around was because they didn’t see me as a plaintiffs attorney. Is there any way to change this perception or does it just come over time?

So is it just me or do people who have been doing ID for decades generally fall into one of two groups? The first group are cynical people who have been divorced, their kids hate them, etc. then the second group are BS artists who are skilled at avoiding both work and responsibility for anything?

When your boss gives you 48 hours (clock hours not billable hours) to produce a viable objection to a MTD/compel arbitration in a complex commercial lit case, which is not my practice area, what kind of result is he expecting? From scratch, no template.

I’ve been working at a rather prestigious midsized firm in a big city for almost a year and a half now. I have been having a lot of trouble picking up work from senior partners. We are required to bill at least 150 hours per month to meet our requirement. My months are typically only 110-130 hours. It seems like the senior partners already have their “go to” associate for things. Does anyone have any suggestions on how i can increase my workload? I reach out for work pretty much weekly.

If you know a law firm offering 100% remote Associate positions please comment below. Thanks!

What does being a “great lawyer” mean to you? The term is thrown around so frequently, it sometimes loses its meaning and probably means entirely different things to different people.

Currently at a super conservative defense firm. I do really well but keep getting the criticism that I tend to just do things on my own initiative. I’m just predisposed to being decisive and rather autonomous. Besides being a solo atty, where would this skillset be better suited? Plaintiffs work?

Does anyone else constantly put off putting their time in as they go and then hate their life at the end of the month? Then once you get caught up, you don’t want to enter more time, and so you fall behind again. It’s a vicious cycle.

Hi All,

Anyone have a recommendation for a good headhunter? I am currently a 2nd year associate (many years paralegaling before that) at a mid-sized firm in NY and am looking for a change.

Also, any cons of working with a headhunter?

I just learned that I get to argue all of our pre-trial motions and do a direct examination at an upcoming trial. What are your best tips for preparing and setting yourself up for success? I want to hear them all! I’m beyond excited for the opportunity. It’s for our biggest client, so I really want to impress!

It may seem obvious, but in my experience partners value trial experience over anything else, so get it however you can. For example, my firm will favor a former prosecutor who has seen the courtroom a lot but has no civil litigation experience (not even a depo) over a seasoned associate who has only second chaired cases with a partner but hasn’t tried a case. Even trying a case and losing gives you credibility at my firm because you still did it.

Any tips on how to bring in clients to the firm? I do L&E and one of the things my firm goes over during annual evals is whether we bring in business, even for third year associates.

Hello. I currently work in-house as a Legal Operations Manager. I am working on a project to expand our network of law firms.

Any recommendations of boutique law firms in CA that have experience in commercial litigation for retail/fashion/apparel/home companies? Specifically consumer class action, unfair business practices, false advertising/17200, data privacy.

Thanks for your recommendations.

In house insurance defense comp. What’s the highest paid and lowest paid companies? Which companies give bonuses? Please provide yoe and salary.

What’s the most unprofessional thing you’ve seen in a deposition recently?

Anyone here have any insight on lateraling to Rawle & Henderson? 10 years exp.

In Texas, does anyone have any advice on what questions to ask general contractor in deposition? We represent subcontractor. I think I have my outline completed but wanted to know if I was missing anything else.

I work at a small firm with not that many workable templates so I usually have to do everything from scratch like drafting motions, pleadings, and researching all potential counts every time. Do bigger firms have better and more templates that allow you to have to do less research?

2022 HOURS CHECK IN

For those of us whose firms start their FY on 12/1, how did you do on your hours this past year?