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I work for a firm with no billables. I’m sure others’ experience will vary but at my firm it’s been a big advantage for sure. No worrying about missing bonus due to a slow year. Totally understand your concern but at my firm it’s basically meant guaranteed bonus.
Actually yes! In some departments. Feel free to PM if you’re interested.
Left BigLaw and the billable hour model nearly 20 years ago to go in-house and it changed my life. For me personally, having my day measured and valued in 6-minute increments was soul-crushing. I’ve had friends in private practice offer me jobs which would triple my salary if I’d come back but no thanks. I didn’t know there were now firms with a non-billable model but kudos to them for thinking outside the box.
It was KILLING me. Left for this same reason
Chief
I work at a firm that has no billable hour requirements. I personally love it. I get huge bonuses every year (one smaller midbyear bonus and one bery large end of year bonus). I think there's much more of a team mentality because I will do anything for the company regardless if I can bill for it since I dont have to worry about making my hours. There's also no excuse to not train new hires for the same reason.
I agree with this 100% I work for a smaller nyc / LI firm with no billable hour requirements. My bonuses are a little all over the place but there is a lot of flexibility and team effort on matters. There’s also no real pressure on down times either… it’s more of an enjoy it when you have it kind of mentality. But then everyone puts in work when there’s a lot going on.
There is a difference between no billable requirement, no billable requirement, no billable requirement, and no billable requirement.
In the first instance, "no billable requirement" is a sham. the firm does have a billable requirement, but they never make it official.
in the second instance, there is a shit ton of work.n a billable requirement would be pointless because so much needs to be done. this can be a good thing if you love the work you are doing. This can be a bad thing if you dislike it.
in the third instance, you are looking at a situation where the firm does not use billable at all. this could be because of fixed fee arrangements with clients or because you work on contingency. in a situation like this, you are measured on what your verdicts bring in. You may also end up in a settlement mill.
The final possibility is kind of rare. A firm that really does care about not overworking attorneys. if you find this firm, the partners are most likely Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the tooth fairy.
Is your firm hiring?
What firms don’t have billable hour?
Most pi and crim def firms, and in-house positions don't set min billables.
A firm with no billable? I’d sell my first born if it was in a field I’m remotely interested in.
My firm has no billable hour requirement and my team do not enter time for flat fee matters, which is the majority of my practice. Like the business world, I evaluate my associates based upon performance, ignoring billable hours because they rarely have to enter time. I want associates who deliver great advice and great service (not those focused on billing hours to earn a bonus).
I like being at a firm with a billable hour requirement, but a low one (1600). It's easy enough to hit with normal 9-5 workdays, but it keeps me on track. Without it, it would be easy to spin my wheels and sit at my desk without getting things done, and that would make me depressed and unsatisfied.
Chief
Not having a billable requirement doesnt mean you can just not work lol
I had no idea firms with no billable hour requirements existed either. For those firms, you still have to enter billing to accurately bill clients, but you just don't have a target?
At K&E and agree that's how it works here too
Where does one find a firm that doesn’t require billable hours? What cities are you in? Are you in a particular specialty? I’m in the DC metro area.
willkie, for instance
I started at a boutique firm with no billable requirement & discretionary bonuses, then went to a midsize firm with a billable requirement & discretionary bonuses, and am now at a large firm with a billable requirement & billable-based bonuses. Personally, I loved having no billable requirement hanging over my head (even though I’m a high biller). YMMV, but my boutique firm was very fair with discretionary bonuses and raises. Even if there’s no billable requirement, the firm should still be able to recognize the hours you’re putting in (assuming you bill clients hourly) and/or the results you’re achieving. I guess a discretionary bonus system could be used to shortchange attorneys, but I think a firm that wants to do that would find a way to do so regardless. While a billable-based bonus provides a little more certainty & security, there are always loopholes; for example, cutting your hours down before determining if you’ve hit your billables or requiring you to achieve a certain performance grade on partner evaluations to receive the billable bonus.
I work at law firm where your yearly bonus is being evaluated based on both B and NB. You need to reach a certain number of NB hours (in addition to the B for sure) to get your full bonus. The number of the NB hours is based on the seniority, higher seniority needs more NB hours which makes sense as your high rate covers the lower B hours needed. Mainly the NB hours covers BD, trainings, publication, team management, pro bono work etc…
Previously I used to work at a top tier law firm (actually was #1) in the country where it is located and they didn’t give a shit about the NB hours, just B hours what matters all the way. Purely profit driven.
Have lived that life and the horrible thing about the additional “non-billable” tracked time is that you’re still measuring your life in 6-minute increments but as an added bonus the value of the “non-billable” time you spend is mostly subjective leaving the door wide open to favoritism, office politics, and all the other “isms”.
Desmarais does not have a billable requirement and I hear it is a disaster because you basically get told "tough" if you are overloaded. You don't have the hours to back up "no really I'm slammed"