How does your firm calculate utilization? My firm’s billable requirement is 1850, but our utilization percentage is calculated based on 40 hours billed per week (2080/year). Pro bono work counts towards billable requirement , but isn’t included in our utilization numbers. This seems out of sorts… Yearly requirement is fine, but it just feels like the numbers don’t match up. I don’t feel like my utilization expectations/work are being accurately accounted for.

Random partner asked a litigation-related question to a partner I frequently work with (i’m a transactional associate). My partner cc’d me and said for me to briefly look. Asked the library. They got me a great case. Sent it back. Now the random partner is asking for more cases in another circuit.

I haven’t done caselaw research since 1L and this isn’t even my practice… wtf do I do (I am fully utilized in my normal work and have a few deals closing soon…)

Why do some people get laid off and others not? Is it always utilization? Do people typically know they're at risk before it gets to that point?

How does your firm measure utilization? I work for a small boutique that defines it as utilization = number of billable hours/2,080 and full bonus payout occurs at 80% plus.

Hi! I’m doing some research on employee benefits (medical insurance, 401k, HSA/FSA, commuter benefits) and was hoping to connect with People specialists or HR professionals in the comp & benefits space. I’m trying to better understand any pain points or challenges you might face with utilization/enrollment. Anyone interested in connecting? Thank you!

In your firm, does taking PTO negatively affect your utilization rate? It does at D so I’m curious to see how other firms handle this

Has anyone gone into YE with lower than the target utilization? I have about 2 months worth of PTO and trainings this year but want to know how a low utilization will affect my YE rating

Anyone afraid to take vacation in FY18, for fear of missing utilization? 🙋🏼🙋🏼‍♂️

What is the target utilization for a Senior 2? Or number of chargeable hours goal? Is this ever hard to meet?

Anyone leave Deloitte for Booz Allen? Thoughts or experiences? Utilization and compliance are absolutely doing my head in.

Do you pay your credit cards in full every month?

I ask because I’ve let my credit spending get a bit lax since moving and adopting a puppy recently, so I haven’t been paying them off in full every month like I used to (though still well above the minimum payment, and keeping utilization at 30% or under). It got me thinking about how many people adhere to this advice.

Utilization director told me today that the layoffs won't affect me. My heart goes out to everyone that had to hear otherwise. Here's to hoping y'all find something better and prosper.

Bain fish, does anyone know how utilization in North America is trending for this year?

Hadn’t noticed this sub before, and most of the threads are old so thought I’d ask a follow up - how has everyone been handling parenting with public accounting? I’ve got a toddler and my wife is an accountant (industry), and we only have a few immediate family in the country- but they have health concerns. Busy season was rough, things are looking better now as things return to normal. Still working crazy hours if you count the daycare duties on top of utilization targets.

A colleague mentioned to me that they bill self study instead of pto. If I’m utilized at 100%+ and staffed on a client and take 3 days off wed-Sunday, they say bill self study and save pto. Advice?

When they say utilization doesn't count for the month of May/June what exactly does that entail? I'm assuming being on the bench for those months will still show on personal utilization reports...

3 Day PTO starts now...my buddy's bachelor party. Forget you, utilization.

I am curious how other inclusion teachers are being utilized when the school is doing remote learning. I find that I am sitting in the zoom class and have very little opportunity to contribute. I am having discussions with my teachers on ways that I can better support them and the students when remote.

About to finish my first year. I’m a specialist. Only going to hit 65% of my hours (took a 4 week vacation cause of wedding/hm).

I never say no to work and i have fantastic reviews, and the head of my practice (with whom I work a lot for) has great things to say about me.

I’ve been fully utilized starting ~June, but first few months were slow. Am i fine?!

Hi Fishes,

Can someone DM on the process of healthcare consulting companies approaching the pharma clients for business

Thanks

Your favorite resources for learning just enough UX?

My baseline is a data scientist background: stats, data visualization, storytelling with decks

Has anyone used Productboard with Jira? I’m specifically looking to understand how you manage epics within the Jira backlog. Currently our backlog contains the child issues for each epic

Hi i am supposed to join capgemini tomorrow. Got an email to submit documents as part of virtual onboarding. I have submitted the same and then i got another email stating "ON SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION YOU WILL RECEIVE READY RECKONER EMAIL". any recent joinees who can help me with what this is?

I need USB referrals

Can anyone help me i am have a different situation here i left the job based on a phone conversation with tech Mahindra since they are asking for an immediate joiner. Now after submission of all documents they are not giving proper response .. every time they call me and ask me some documents is missing and some time BG status not received.. i don't what to do ..no job now and even no offer from them.

Why is it so hard to move out of federal consulting and into the private sector?

Hi fishes, Any openings for functional BAs? Looking for Solution and Strategy related positions. Yoe. 6+yrs Trying to transition into a Solution and Strategy Consultant, any suggestions or reference appreciated? PwC Accenture Morgan Stanley Deloitte EY Infosys

Does anyone know what purple tables mean in Excel?

I know about green and orange, but never saw purple before and trying to figure it out.

What’s everyone’s post MBA goal? Has it evolved over time?

Could anyone share ISSP certification study guides or general info?

Does anyone know of good NYC headhunters for early career consultants (2 years out of undergrad)?

Hey all, do you guys have any recommendations for low carb/high protein Indian diets? I am a South Indian, never feel satiated if I don’t eat my rice. Also not a big fan of rotis. Please pour in what other foods/recipes/advice you have!

Newbie here. Did any one engage a financial planning service? I’m 34 with young kids, no debt, and $300k in cash. Absolutely no other financial/estate planning and overwhelmed!

What’s your worst experience with a senior? (As an associate)

So I finally got around to watching the Bear. Thoughts? They did get the frantic element right and the little details. But my family at Thanksgiving all seemed to think it was basically a documentary

11likes to enable DM 🙏🙏

How do you justify a $100k pay cut to go in house?

Who’s working on the twitter acquisition? The dataroom has to be nuts.

If we all make a fuss about returning to the office do you think the standard will change?

Does anybody know how to stop the recruiter emails? I am about to lose my mind. The sheer audacity of the recruiter who emailed me yesterday to ask me to return to the firm I left last year has sent me over the edge.

How can I sell my 2 years of clerkship as valuable experience for corporate work? I would like to get credit for at least one year (at least in salary, if I can’t in seniority). I know for litigation they are more clearly valued and linked to that type of work, but I have reconsidered my interests and now am thinking of going into corp. However, I don’t want to feel like I wasted 2 years clerking (which I don’t feel like that, but I have to convince an employer of that too). Any help or insight?

For those of you with young children and a 2000 billable requirement, could you share what your typical daily schedule is like? Also do you have time to fit in exercise?

Completely and totally miserable at my firm and just need a space to vent because my friends are tired of hearing about it. I wish the worst part about it was the amount of work, rather than the completely toxic culture, lack of appreciation, arbitrary and back/breaking deadlines, lack of mentorship/feedback/training, and the fact that the associates act like they don’t even know each other. I cry every day and constantly am made to feel stupid for not understanding the highly technical (cont.)

Just started in Biglaw as a first year - one of the partners made a passing remark that he couldn’t remember my PQE but thinks I’m “the same as X associate”. Went on LinkedIn and saw that X associate is a third year. How do I gently correct this misconception in a future conversation?

Beginning to consider going in house (4th, corp) - I really haven’t thought about what I want, partly because I’m not sure what’s out there/attainable. Is it a bad idea to start by applying to a couple positions that interest me and seeing where that gets me? I’ll of course prep for the interviews but am afraid to burn potential bridges if I ultimately decline because I’m still figuring things out.

Have any GT offices other than NY matched?

McDermott Will and Emory's New York office - would be a junior litigator. Any reviews/advice?

Anyone have slow months where you burn through a lot of your allotted pro bono/professional development hours to keep hitting minimum daily hours? The past few weeks have been like this for me. Should I be concerned (I.e., will this reflect poorly on me, come review time? Will I have dug myself too much of a hole if I keep burning my non-billable hours?) I’ve been asking partners if I can assist in any projects so I can fill my plate, but I’ve only gotten small (4-6 hour) tasks handed my way.

BeCiAL sPoNuSeS this year??

Just wrapped up a deal with a regular client (although the client’s deal teams vary). I’m a Junior and did a lot of the emailing back and forth with the client and with the other side. Is it appropriate for me to add the client deal team members on LinkedIn? What about the lawyers on the other side?

When your seniors aren’t motivated and pulling their weight, it shows and demotivates you. It’s a domino effect. How do you handle these situations? The senior pushes every single thing down and it’s clear to everyone this person could care less. Makes me not care and not want to do anything either…

Thoughts on Dechert FRE (real estate)?

Restructuring/Bankruptcy associates, how slow have you been this year so far? Seems like industry wide it’s been a very quiet year.

Is it easy to switch from niche litigation like ip to something broader?

Does your firm let you take 28-30 December off? Many of my team members won’t be working those days and I decided last minute that I’d like to travel somewhere between Christmas and the New Year.

Best firms for healthcare transactions?