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Never do anything without a timer running. If you have .1s left over at the end of the day, write them down in a “time graveyard” and add them onto substantive work performed at a later date on the same matter.
For example, if you’re keeping up with emails on a matter but not doing substantive work, run the timer during the email review, then put the time in your time graveyard and add it later to a substantive assignment.
Or just write something like “attention to (matter)” for all the little tasks that don’t add up to anything meaningful in a given day
Don’t draw stick figures while you’re billing, bro. That’s malpractice and can get you in a lot of trouble.
A theory: part of the “art” is managing the cognitive dissonance as required to pad and not feel bad about it. If you can’t do that, it’s way harder and you end up leaving (me).
Yes!!! I can't stand it, and the ever-present eyes of the billing hawks looking down on me... I am moving on to Greener pastures too! The people who kill it and billing are ones who don't bill just with timers and pad or blanket bill for certain things, which I've never felt comfortable with. I think you have to find a way to get comfortable with the extra .1's or you'll always feel/be told you're not doing enough.
Use phrases like “Attention to ____”; “Strategize regarding ___”; “Evaluate ____”; “Review correspondence in preparation for ____”
Fellow T&E here, and big same. You bounce from so many client matters throughout the day. I love it when I have just a straight drafting day.
Roll them into something substantive. Make pockets for .1s and .2s. So long as they go to the same client.
I keep a scratch pad. The minute I start working on a client matter, I write the client name and time. When done, jot down the end time and enter the time right then or at the end of the day.
I see lots of cool ideas; but when I was in big law I would’ve been smacked for doing any of that. My MP was an “artist” at cutting any time she felt was unnecessary for a given project
I typically put review file to determine status of claim and strategy moving forward when it’s a file status review. At the end of the day, the legal staff HAS to be reviewing the file to stay up to date.
I tend to do blocks of emails where I dive in and catch up on my inbox for an hour. I make that as “email organization” and then go through and bill against it based on emails sent during that time. So for example, if I know I was working on Matter A for a few minutes during my 1-hour email clean, then “organization” Matter A gets a 0.1 and “organization” gets reduced to 0.9. Doesn’t always work out, but it gets me more of my time. Probably worth a bad crayon drawing or so.
Agree with adding little matters to other assignments.
Also very important to use your billing app timer. Use it for everything you do anything that moves a matter forward. I put in basic entries when I log on in the am for what I think ill work on, a few unassigned for random things that may pop up, and this takes all of 3 minutes. I then use those timers throughout the day. Saves me all the tracking and calculating. Then clean up entry client numbers/codes/narratives at the end of the day. That takes 5 minutes. Worth it and you won't lose time!
Keep the narratives coming guys. They are gold ! Thanks
1. Keep a list of typical timer narratives. This will keep your books clean and easy to review at EOM. It will also help you see where you're spending the majority of your time.
2. Status update sheets. Are you reviewing a physical file or electronic? Either way- have a running spreadsheet that captures what has been/needs to be done. Use colors to capture your attention faster.
3. Have an at-a-glance client information sheet: Names, contact info, package (trust/will with GDPOA, AD, TOD,etc.- use check box sets- 1 box line for need with package, 1 box line for complete/drafted), heirs/beneficiaries, accounts & amounts.
I totally understand that it is hard to keep clients separate when they're all seeing you for essentially the same thing. Being super organized will help. Also- start your timer as soon as you crack the file, roll your "reviewing information" into "initial draft of estate planning document" or "preparation for client telephone call to strategize estate distribution."
Do you have a legal assistant or paralegal? These forms are things that they could prepare & keep updated. You should have an array of standard templates that need very minor adjustments, and that should take very little time to draft.
Also- if you have the ability to change the mode of billing, flat-fee EP makes a lot more sense than billable.
I am a very seasoned estate planning and trust & estate administration paralegal. I created systems at 2 high-end firms to maximize time use, efficiency & accuracy. I literally wrote the guide on EP/EA; it eventually ran so smoothly it didn't need me to function anymore. I created a system that was so efficient and user-friendly, it worked me out of a job.
F
PS - does anyone use a personal dictation software to timer to capture time or narratives throughout the day which you’d recommend? Thanks
I don’t but Word has a dictation feature I use a lot for outlines/rough drafts.
Just obsess about tracking your time and you’ll find the best time tracking method that works for you.