First gen lawyer here (not that that really impacts the question/post) but I see all these posts about entering billable time and appropriate descriptions (mostly in big law or other practice areas (Domestic Relations litigation here)). How often do people here run into clients requesting meetings to have their bills explained or refusing to pay certain work? What’s your practice area, and who in your firm is tasked with these explanation meetings?

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This is why I hate hourly fees. I don’t charge my clients this way. Too much is disputed. I’m corporate and work out fixed fees usually monthly to represent them. Otherwise, the answer is often

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Agreed. I hate fighting over the fees. People don't want to pay them but then they want all of my time....

It happens quite a bit in my experience, even when I worked at a larger firm.

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We just have a client complaining cause of a payment being applied to an October bill even though it should have been applied to (and was to pay off) September. I’m like: you still get the correct amount of credit, and we don’t charge interest… so what’s the issue? Also, not my case— so my partner needs to address it. But the paralegal is fed up with two calls per day with client.

We also have another that lately, requests a monthly meeting to fine-tooth comb his bill.

I where the hat of both office manager and paralegal for a small law firm.

Each of the responsible attorneys have a handful of difficult clients. The first week after billing has gone out, I usually take 3-5 calls a day for clients questioning their bills.

We have clients that try to negotiate large bills, and clients that complaint about $32 charge.

This is common I guess. From time to time, we get calls like this. We have to explain everything, even it consumes our time sometimes.

At least 2-3 times. It really depends if the client has a legitimate concern.

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Partners or whomever can help me understand about billing and hours. To keep things simple, let’s say you only have one staff to work 1,700 billable hours a year on a $60k salary and you have only one job that and the rate charged to the client is $300/hour and an projected hours budget of 1,700 hours. So ideally you would have revenue of $510k. If the staff takes less time partners make less money and if they take more time partners make more money while the staff keeps the same salary?

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What are the expected billable hours/revenue/analytical requirements for staff at your firm?

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Ok, maybe this has been done before, but I want to get a real life sense of the difference between EPLI and Private L&E (management side) practices. Let's do a poll:

1.) Primary source of business: EPLI or Private Companies?

2.) Number of matters you are currently working on

3.) Average billable rate (your year)

4.) Normal working hours/wk

5.) Percentages: Litigation vs Counseling

6.) Type of firm: ID, Big 4, Boutique, BigLaw, etc.

I'll kick things off in comments.

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A reminder to those who are stressed about your billable hours that your value is more than your pure productivity. To those stressed about relationships, relationships are hard even for non-lawyers, but you are absolutely worthy of love. It is an important reminder for all of us that you are worthy and you are valuable. Keep fighting!

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Some of you really only bill 17/1800 hours? Are you just busy doing non-billable work or you just don’t have enough work coming to you? If it’s because you don’t have enough work does that mean you have your evenings and weekends to yourself too? Could you maybe help the rest of us out who never get either?

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As a junior associate, how do you find the healthy balance to take initiative in matters as opposed to wasting billable time on something the client won’t pay for or the partner might not actually want?

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What's up everyone? I saw a salary survey posted earlier. What do y'all think I should make at a litigation boutique that handles primarily business litigation on a contingency fee? No billable hours.

Are utilization targets (%) always based on 40 hrs/wk, I.e 90% utilization = avg 36 billable hrs/wk?

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Salary survey:

Base:
Years:
Number of attorneys:
Yearly billable requirements:
Bonus:

I started at a new firm this year in January. I had a billable goal that was given to me mid year of around 1750 house for the year. I am nowhere near that and definitely will not meet the goal. I had so many non billable hours I was forced to take when I first came in. I worked my ass off in busy season. At my previous firm I never fell short of hours as it was B4. This firm is mid sized and more focused on WLB. My question is how bad do you think this will affect my comp??

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That moment when your "smart" plan to boost your hours this month by working the Labor Day weekend (thus turning down all the fun plans your friends made) becomes sitting on your hands & feeling dumb because all the partners are too busy to delegate anything. The worst kind of "off" day is one you planned to /wanted to work, but there's no billable work...

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