Had a firm meeting where all associates were told that our social lives should be socializing and networking with other lawyers at bar association events. Was told it is now mandatory to join one from a list and get on the board and "get involved." Is it just me or is this ridiculous? No credit towards billable hours and I am expected to help market the firm for free on my own time. Is nothing in this field sacred? Have been involved on boards in the past and I would rather spend time with fam.

First year here. Do associates get fired for not meeting the billable requirements?

What’s your take on Lydecker? What is the culture? Market salary? Expectation on billable hours? Mentorship? Etc.?

Can you share first year salary for midsize firms? I'm in NJ, but curious to hear other markets. Also billable targets? Thanks!

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

Probably a foolish question: are bonuses based off of raw billable hours or billable hours modified by the partners?

To the post below- it is quiet, so I’ll bite!
Does anyone know about associate compensation at the regional Atlantic Canada firms? The the big ones have all been posting job ads for associates in the 3-5 year range. Any insight on salary and billable targets?

Can you get fired for having low utilization as a senior? My billable hours this busy season have been much lower than my peers.

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.

Anyone working as a 2 years + lawyer for Fragomen in Canada can share their salaries and working advantages? (holidays, billable hours etc). Got an interview coming up and want to make sure not to under-sale my profile!

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

Received a job offer. Was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on a concern I had about it. It's an entry level position, and I don't have much experience. The billables are 2040 a year. For billable hours in civil litigation and insurance defense, is 2040 hours for a 1st year associate on the high end in this field for a small or midsize firm? It seems like most attorneys I know have minimum requirements of around 1800. The compensation is around 80k a year.

I’m just starting up as a freelancer after years of being a full time agency employee. Any big watch outs before finalizing my contract? What about frequency of invoicing and defining billable time? Any guidance on freelancing dos and don’ts is much appreciated.

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

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.

How many billable hours per week is considered at capacity? I’m getting pushback on boundaries I’m setting about additional matters and marketing work from my firm when I’ve been billing 60-75 hours per week for the last 6 weeks, and I’m still behind on my work. I feel like it’s reasonable to not kill myself further to fit in more/turn things around faster at this point, but am I being unreasonable? I expect my workload to remain at this level through the end of the year at least.

Have a call on Friday with the CEO of an environmental entrepreneurship non-profit. It could lead to a professional opportunity and maybe even billable work I can refer to my firm down the line. I’m going in with an open mind but little concrete information on his entity and goals and ways I could get involved. What questions would you ask such a person?

Obligatory financial info post. 1) size of firm, 2) billable requirements, 3) salary, 4) bonus, 5) quality of life, 6) debt, and and 7) family/married/single. Go!

What’s the best way to turn down a 2nd interview? During the 1st interview, I learned that the compensation for the role is not within the range that I am looking for and requires 400 more billable hours a year than what I bill now. I’d basically be laterally for my current salary just to bill 400 more hours. I also wasn’t aware that the local office was strictly ID. Firm website advertises lots of practice areas. Any advice? TIA!

Did anyone not meet their billable hours requirement during their first year of employment? If so, how did your firm react? 😬

Should I put $20K towards my student loan balance of $230K before the no-interest period ends or max out my 401k, which I have contributed nothing to this year. I’m 25. Employee matches 4%.

Currently in ibanking as an associate and want to see if I can make the move to PE. Is the CAIA viewed favorably at all?

How is the work culture for a DevOps in QuestionPro Pvt. Ltd Pune?

How do you navigate when you've already accepted an offer, but you get a better one? I'm supposed to start a new role tomorrow but got an offer for the job I really wanted, and it pays 50k more. Is it horrible if I quit while having just started?

Has anyone here been able to recover from career setbacks caused by Dot Com, 9-11, or Great Recession economy? Just turned 40 with 15 years of relevant industry experience, and my Big 4 employer brought me in at a level designed for 25 year-olds. Career progression is apparently based on time in role rather than performance, so I’ll have to spend 8 years climbing back to the level I was at pre-recession. Is there another way, or is my career stuck in neutral?

Again posting since my last post did not got attention. Wanted to ask whether it's good to switch to big 4 India advisory role from a mid tier organization dealing in tech and ops. Additionally, they offered just very low percentage on current CTC saying that I am coming to a big brand.
Plus my current financial situation is stressful and I accepted the offer on certain conditions but now hr or the firm but saying we can't committ you. Any suggestions.

I have ~6 YOE (5 in tech consulting at B4, 1 in current role) and work in back office IT making 180k TC working 25-30 hours per week. It’s low stress and easy money but I’ve plateaued. Should my next move be MBA or try to go back to consulting?

Trying to get into stand up comedy, any advice? Not sure where to start but am really serious about giving it a shot

Any recommendations for inexpensive, beneficial social media marketing courses?

What would you do?
My company contracts a web developer, we have a set amount of hours for the quarter and pay over if more work is needed.
He never gets anything done. Doesn’t answer emails half the time. The one thing he’s done was take out a blurb that threatened our eligibility for patent renewal.
We have another company taking over in January, but I still have some pretty important dev needs until then and I can’t get him to do a thing. I truly try to give him all he needs.

Hey folks - I have an inquiry on my credit for a gym membership I “failed to cancel”. I had previously left this gym as it closed during pandemic, and shifted to a new location. In doing so, I informed the gym I would be leaving. However, I recently checked my credit and saw that my membership had not been cancelled and had been sent to collections (prompting an inquiry and dropping my score).

Has anyone experienced this, and is aware of next steps to take here?

I recently had a specialist partner send me a fairly nasty email after I (a transactional first year) was told to ask them to review something ASAP that had clearly been on my partner’s radar for over a week. Why am I taking the (honestly justified) blame for this? Surely it should be obvious that I’m just the messenger here.

Hi 
Can anyone refer me for a data science analyst role in Amex

Thanks .

What is your understanding of the norms around whose names end up on a brief/complaint/motion papers etc.? I’m a midlevel at an AmLaw 20 firm and have twice been the principal drafter of something only to be cut from the signature block. The associate senior to me is on it despite having done far less of the work. And it’s not because it required a rewrite or something. The filed product is 80-90% my work. Am I wrong to be pissed off about this?

I have a question for my fellow PI paralegals in Texas. TPCIGA requires that we submit all medical bills through the clients insurance before proceeding further. The client in question has Aetna. I sent the bills with a cover letter to Aetna via certified mail. I am having so much trouble getting a status on said claim. Does anyone here have experience with that and can assist me? Any help or guidance is appreciated.

does anyone have any model practice / prep materials that they'd be willing to share? happy to contribute $ ... struggling to figure out how to practice in a structured way

What time did you spend at each level, from AP --> EPD? And how much time SHOULD you spend at each?

it’s been 3 years in this city and I really need to hang out with someone other than my boyfriend. But I’m terrible at “networking"

How do people who go into entrepreneurship and nonprofit make a living post MBA (and spending everything on tuition)?

Hi new here. Idk what my value is and if I’m getting paid an amount that reflects my hard work. I am a paralegal for a small law firm (family and immigration) w only 1 attorney. I have about 20 files or more in my rotation at a time. I work on various types of cases at once. Some are simple, others are extensive. I feel like it’s very unstructured and one of the managers micromanages. It’s like every man for himself. Take home pay is $50k. I am working on my bachelors deg. Do I get paid enough?

How do you wind down after a rough day?

Last associates committee meeting is coming up. Partners have asked each associate to come up with... not one... but FIVE marketing ideas. Other than reeling out “we offer competitive pay” in job postings, what are some good ones your firm does?

I’m struggling a bit. If I knew how to market well, I certainly wouldn’t be in this position.

I want to get out of ID so badly. I don’t mind the work but the hours are just killing me. I just started at a new firm less than 6 months ago and I am already desperate to get out. It is not the firm or the people. I just hate the high billables. I have been applying to other jobs but I think I may need a recruiter for help. Any recommendation for a great recruiter in NYC?

Well I learned my lesson. Never work with Wells Fargo. Any good banks I should switch to?

I am concerned with fulfilling billable hours requirement. I’m required to hit 2100 hours yearly and I’m at ~1,500 hours and I think I’ll hit 150-180hours this month. What will happen if I don’t hit my targeted amount by the end of my year.

Anyone work at Stoel Rives? How’s the WLB? Wondering if the grass is any greener over there coming from big law

I don’t want to make partner, and I want to stay in big law for 2-3 years, do you suggest I just do the bare minimum for hours or should I still be doing as much work as possible?

How to switch practice areas? I’ve been in immigration for 3 years now and need a change. How do you convince employers you’re a good fit for a role you don’t have any experience with?

Entering 3rd year at mid size firm in SE doing ID. I like my firm but really dont like the partner i exclusively work with and am going to put in notice. Do i tell the partner i work with first or the managing partner?

Does anyone know the reputation of the Boston based Morgan and Morgan attorneys? Is it a good working environment?

Has anyone taken  ACAMS Certified Global Sanctions Specialist (CGSS)? Any comments/ reviews? How has it enhanced your employability? Why did you take the CGSS?

We have motion sensor lights in my office and the sensor is far from my desk. Consequently, if I'm on a long WebEx, the lights go out and it's embarrassing. The building won't change the sensor. Anyone find a solution for this (aside from standing up and moving, which would be very awkward)? I can't rearrange my office.

Brand new baby lawyer dumb question - I am tasked with drafting response to request to produce. How long should this take? And follow up… how do I bill this?

A friend was rewatching old episodes of Suits, which admittedly I’ve never seen. The main character starts at this law firm where associates are given cubicles not offices. There’s no way that’s accurate, right??? I have a cube but I’m just a lowly gov atty frm a state school LOL not a Harvard law alum at a reputable NYC firm

I’ve practiced litigation in DC for about 5+ years at a larger plaintiffs’ firm, and am considering a switch to a defense firm. Is there any insight to how many billable hours this would require, and how much time that would actually be? For reference, the firm has a 1900 billable hour requirement and the partner said I would have “no problem” fulfilling that based on the work they have.

How are 1st year litigation associates dealing with WFH? I’ve been having terrible anxiety/panic attacks, and pretty sure my billables wont exceed 110 for April. I’ve been super stressed about it and don’t know how to move on to May with the proper mindset to make up for as much time missed as possible. CA courts are still closed, and I’m worried I won’t be able to exceed (or even meet) my May goal after April.

I went through all the stages of interviewing with a firm then they chose not to fill the position. They said internal priorities changed. I saw about 5 months later they posted a similar position. Guess who has another interview!

What is the expectation at your firms about coming into work after making your billable hours requirement? Asking especially for those who do not get a bonus per extra hour billed over the minimum.