Doc review, billable requirements -- that's the sh** I don't like

I am a new associate (1 month in mid-tier firm) and I struggle to get work to fill up the whole day. In honest time, i get about 3-5 billable hours a day. Am I going to get in trouble or fired over this?? I am putting my best efforts when I do get work and I ask for work sometimes. At this point I feel like I am being annoying too…

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.

Any insight into Jackson Lewis NYC office? Compensation, billable hours, WLB? I would be a 2-3 year

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.

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)?

Has anyone here worked (or does anyone currently work) for Bernstein Litowitz (aka BLBG)? Very interested to learn what inside associates feel about the firm, its culture, work-life balance, billable hours, etc.

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.

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

Went from a big firm to work for a smaller firm. The people in the smaller firm are protective of their work and are good by their work too. I no longer feel chaos or stress. I am treated with respect and my schedule is more normal. I am even working more billable hours than before, but it feels like a seamless experience. I don’t work then past 5pm or anything out of the ordinary for this time of the year. I am so grateful!

If you take vacation, is the onus on you to make up that billable time? If so, how do you enjoy long vacations?

Doing a federal clerkship and thinking of my options after. Anyone in NJ/NY/PA biglaw lit group with collegial and pleasant work environment? I do not care about billable requirements/workload, just salary and don’t want to be treated like shit.

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 had one of those VERY nonproductive days today. I think I accomplished maybe an hour of billable work, even though I had a bunch of stuff to do. I just came off a 300 hour month, and unexpectedly got a continuance on a deadline on Wednesday, and it’s like all of my motivation leeched out of me at once.

I just spoke with a software architect that went back to school to learn software engineering after law school because it was more lucrative and had less hours. He’s worked his way up and has the skills and authority to work 6:30am-10am and gets to work remotely. We discussed that results/outputs is better than billable time like in law and public accounting. Yet, his parents and others would view him as “lazy” but he does his job and makes a fantastic living. Time>Money and Results>Hours

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.

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

I’ve been a freelance print production designer for many years, and usually on-site in the before times. Now I work remote, and am finding it uneasy dealing with billing. Before I always billed hourly, which made sense, but it’s becoming an issue now. Some companies don’t have a full days’ work, so it seems wrong to bill full days, and it allows me to juggle projects for different companies, but my billable hours are down. I know I should bill a daily rate, but not sure that will fly. Thoughts?

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

Curious to know what other firm's bonus structures are, particularly those with billable requirements of 1900 and below. Trying to understand what the norm is and figure out if associates at my firm are getting screwed. thanks

Any thoughts on Phillips Lytle? If you could please provide insight on culture/billable requirements? Thank you.

I survived a terrorist attack in the past (not 9/11 but conversations about 9/11 always remind me about it). The weird thing is how neutral the memories are, it’s just a thing that happened. I know many survivors deal with mental health repercussions and the fact that I was just happy to be alive makes me feel like some kind of sociopath.

I heard from my head that there is a lot of slowdown in VW Germany... There is Hiring freeze, level freeze and all ... And soon that will spillover to india. So be prepared for very less hikes in coming cycle :( Also automotive sector in general is struggling with tesla laying off 10% workforce recently. Maybe time to make a move? What do you say fishes?

Fti 🐠, what is the salary band for a senior director in forensic and litigation consulting?

Does anyone know about RGP. I have qualified and offers is about to come soon as confirmed from HR. Is it worth considering this company or should look around elsewhere? Any idea would be of great help.

How much time did hsbc will take to release offer letter after 2 rounds of technical discussion?

Have McK phone case coming up, has anyone had feedback on why you haven’t passed? Looking to avoid missteps.

Is DC a competitive office to get into for McKinsey?

Is there any opening for Mainframe professional for 12+ years of experience. Location no constraint.

Is there special experience or knowledge you'd need to be effective at a GCD level in Pharma? Or is it like any other account, just different products? I'm considering making the switch from general market advertising.

OMEGA INCREASED THEIR PRICES OH NOOOOOOOOOO

Hello Guys,
How much appraisal hike you all have got in this cycle?
In my case they provided very less hike of 3% and I have done so much work.

Hi All, how much time it takes to genrate offer letter after 2 round of interviews at Crisil.

Any info on WLB at NielsenIQ.. and pay ballpark figure for 7.5 YOE?

Visited Deloitte Towers today. Huge queue in cafeteria. Looks like every one is working on Tuesday and Thursday

Hello all,

I have joined Capgemini on last week they took for development project and now they assigned to admin related projects.
I am not interested in admin related projects.
What can I do ?
And if I quit from cg need to serve notice period?

I am starting a "Salary transparency thread". Please post your level e.g. L4/L5 and salary. Let's make sure everyone is fairly paid and can take a stand in the upcoming appraisal cycle !

Raise your hand if you’re going to finish April sub 100 billables 🙋🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️

Any advise for wrist pinch pain? (Not looking for the surgery route). I also have an ergonomic keyboard.

Gripe in here about Legal Assistants (more in comments)

Need advice: I want to ask my firm to move me to another office permanently. How do I bring it up? I think my firm will understand and try to move me, but not guaranteed. Need to plan for it well.

How do firms calculate how much parental leave to provide, either paid or unpaid. Or do they just pick a number, like “yeah they can get to know their kid in a few weeks and I couldn’t possibly have that attorney out for 12 weeks?” I’m at a small firm, no FMLA or state requirement. We get four weeks paid and four weeks unpaid. Would like to push for more but not sure how to argue costs side of it.

Can I waive into other UBE jurisdictions using my NY UBE license at any time? Or is there an expiration date for my bar exam score, after which point I won't be able to waive in?

Is there such a thing as "insurance law?"

I am a lawyer (based in the UK) and have been practising for 15+ years (financial services/banking). I love being a lawyer but I would also love to do something more creative or more independent. Has anyone moved from law into another role or has anyone done something more creative alongside their full time legal career? I’m feeling a bit stuck!

Has anyone here worked (or does anyone currently work) for Bernstein Litowitz (aka BLBG)? Very interested to learn what inside associates feel about the firm, its culture, work-life balance, billable hours, etc.

First year associate in litigation offered an assistant in-house role for the construction division of a real estate development company. Asked to send an offer letter detailing my salary and benefit requirements. Don’t know where to begin. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Lateraled to a new firm a year ago and struggling so much because I’m NOT being micromanaged. (Biglaw -> Small law, toxic culture -> great culture) Advice

I feel like I can’t redeem my career. I’ve been out of paying work since I graduated. My bar was delayed due to a medical problem and since then I’ve only been able to find volunteering. I’ve been working for free for 2 years now. My network is tapped, my mentors are confused why I can’t find anything, my law school’s career services actually gave up on me, I don’t have the money to move to a new place, I have no other support and I can’t even go back to retail because nobody’s hiring out here.

I woke up and realized what’s bothering me about my (biglaw) firm.

They’ve been so busy bragging about how great of a job they’re doing responding to client inquiries and guiding them (cont)

For exhibits to motions/responses in federal court, do law clerks prefer (1) citations to doc numbers or (2) attach exhibits to motion, even if the docs have already been filed with the court.

PARTNERS: two questions —1. If you see an associate has really low hours for the month, do you imagine them chillen on a beach somewhere or do you consider they probably spent most of their days sitting in front of the computer being “available”? 2. If you send an associate a random e-mail on a weekend like “Can you pull X and send to Y”, would you get annoyed if they responded saying they weren’t by a comp or would you consider it reasonable that they wouldn’t be by a comp on a weekend?

Any tips to help stay focused? WFH has been difficult for me because it’s so hard to focus (harder than it is at the office). I know I’m so lucky to still have my job & work coming in, so I feel bad.

Former biglaw first-years now in government: Do juniors in government get more autonomy than those in biglaw? Or is the review process for juniors' work at least more efficient/streamlined (i.e. reviewed by one mid-level and one senior, instead of four mid-levels, two seniors, and two partners)?

Partners: How often are you paid? Do you receive regular paychecks/distributions in equal amounts? Does the firm ever withhold a check during a cash crunch?

For those seeking to make a move DLA just announced matching and has tons of openings across all transactional verticals! PM me for details

Protocol for responding (or not) to unsolicited emails from recruiters to your work email? In other words, is it acceptable to just ignore without a response? Or do you prefer to keep the line open with a brief “thanks for thinking of me, I am not interested at this time but hope we can collaborate in the future.”