Imagine a person lateraling into Big Law who has never had to do the billable hours previously. 1) What would be your best piece of advice? 2) What do you wish someone would have told you about billing when you started? 3) Is there maybe a book for someone entering the minefield on billing effectively and capturing time effectively? Thanks in advance!

like
Posting as :
works at
You are currently posting as works at

Okay so I am a year in to being that person: 1) Record time for everything as soon as you do it. I mean everything, every email, every phone call that relates to a client. Create a temporary matter if you don’t have the client name or number yet. Maybe you won’t be able to release it for billable credit but you can guarantee it won’t count for anything at all if you don’t record it. 2) Be wary/keep mental track of emails you review and respond to from your phone outside your typical hours, and record them. Those .1s add up. 3) Start from the assumption that everything can be billed unless/until they tell you otherwise. 4) Track yourself against your targets on a weekly or monthly basis, whatever works for you, but be aware of where you are and ask for work when you are falling behind. 5) Budget for vacations across the full year if your firm doesn’t require a monthly minimum. Meaning, it’s a lot easier to make up that 40 hours across 51 weeks rather than 3 weeks.

likesmarthelpful

Thank you so very much!!

If there’s software that lets you use timers, get into that habit in the beginning and set up a ton of templates for various clients and tasks to find efficiencies. Close your time that day or in the AM after. Also don’t disregard nonbillable time (mentoring, networking, professional development, CLE, meetings, practice admin, etc.)

like

Got it, thanks so much!

I am also this person, about 1.5years in. And man do I miss my 8-hr government time sheets I’d do in five mins every other Friday morning....

Agree with all of the above, with two additions.

- fight the urge to under bill. Record your time fairly and accurately. Based on your post/general earnest tone, I infer that over billing is not going to be an issue for you, but you might get sucked into the trap of many of us in biglaw who hold ourselves to invisible/unnecessary standards about how much time something ‘should’ take vs actually does. Let someone else make those calls, and just do your job, especially at the beginning.

- do not seek out or read a book on how to bill time effectively. Spend that time reading a book about literally any other topic.

like

Thank you! Gotcha. I am naturally a control freak checking the work 2000 times before sending, and writing and briefing does take me longer than what I imagine it should, because I want it to be perfect. So your comment about under billing hit strike here. Thanks for mentioning this - I’d definitely be inclined to undercut it to bring to “normal” whatever it is.

Get in the habit of doing it as you go, or at least every day. Find some bills on the document management system and copy the style. Review the firm attorney handbook section on billing.

like

Bill as you go, once you let the day go by it will be SIGNIFICANTLY harder to capture everything you’ve done.

Also bill for everything. Every. Last. Thing.

like

Thank you all, this is super helpful!

Related Posts

What is a material billable hours difference from your peers at the same group? If I bill 150 less a year than another associate should I be worried?

like

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)?

likefunny

Had 2 hours of billable work today 💀

likeupliftinghelpfulfunny

Recent lateral junior associate in brand new practice where I'm the only associate. I'm probably going to bill 1,500 hours max this year due to being very slow and taking time off for a delayed honeymoon which I disclosed during my interview process. I have been told my work product is good, I don't turn anything down, I participate in non-billable work, I'm responsive and I always let people know I'm available to help. Do I need to be worried about getting fired for low hours?

likefunny

Have any of you taken "low bono" clients while working at a firm? I want to take on a low bono client or two but not sure who would get the money. This is a contract opportunity through a non profit so I'm assuming a 1099 will be issued. The per hour rate is significantly less than my billable rate. I would (obviously) like the money but my real objective is just getting experience/networking since I recently moved to a new state and don't have clients of my own.

like

Getting over heartbreak and having a full time job is torture lol. My boyfriend and I just broke up after almost a year of being together. It was such a beautiful relationship but ultimately he just didn’t love me. I love him so much. My mind knows that I deserve reciprocal love and I’m worthy, but I feel physically ill. My body hurts, my stomach is in knots, my head hurts. How is it that I have to mend a broken heart but also meet my billable hours lmao

like

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

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

like

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

like

Does anyone have experience working for a ALSP? How does compensation work (pay and benefits)? Are you an employee or technically an IC? Do you have billable requirements like at a firm? How do you think it prepared you to potentially move in house? I'm currently at a firm but thinking of taking a position with an ALSP but my goal is to go in house.

I currently work at a medium sized firm and have about two years experience in personal injury litigation. The billable hours and lack of work life balance are really getting to me and I am looking to switch to something else out of litigation, preferably in house. I am also looking to relocate to a different state. How do I go about properly marketing myself to companies that might not take my relocation and minimal experience seriously?

like

I heard so much about minimum billable hours here by staff. I never saw that email. Is it inly for certain groups?

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.

like

Mental health is busy, looking for tips to help manage tasks, currently I supervise 12 therapists in 3 different departments that are all different with unique dynamics in each dept. I still carry a small caseload on top of this. I'm struggling with my patients and worry I am not giving them my best, I wax and wane between focusing on patients and therapists. Looking for advice navigating this type od conversation with my leadership, we have all been asked to work on increase billable time...

like

What’s your current billable rate and salary?

like

Does anyone run a business in addition to their firm? I’m a solo and I’m doing pretty well with about 60-70 billable hours a month. Though that leaves a lot of downtime. Curious if anyone has any second businesses that require about 20 hours a week. Not looking for passive income or franchise ideas though.

like

Is there an appropriate way to turn down an assignment because it is non-billable? Two of the partners I work for keep asking me to write client bulletins and articles with them, which is great, but now I’m starting to worry about meeting my billable hours requirement.

like

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

like

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.

like

More Posts

Not having luck finding a relationship or having any guys interested in me for 28 years. Thinking about resorting to plastic surgery to increase my chances of finding somebody

like

Any Capgemini H1B US employees here…
What is the standard procedure to resign? The recommended notice period is 2 weeks but any indirect penalty if you don’t do so?
Capgemini

like

Anybody could refer me to Deloitte.
I'm happy to refer anyone to EY as well.
Thank you

like

I'm having 2 offers currently for data engineer position, 1. Quantiphi: fixed 15, 1 VP. Project: electronic health records
2. Virtusa: fixed 16.15, VP 5%. Project: British telecom. Migration project, PySpark coding with AWS glue EMR.

Please suggest me which one is best?? Feb 8th is my LWD.
I'm also in 2nd round at other companies like Brillio , NetApp (Data ops)

For EESP - which is better share withholding or payroll withholding? Thoughts?

like

Worth getting the Marriott bonvoy credit card with the 100k points bonus? Annual fee is $95. Already have CSR.

like

I hated the Cheetos ad when I saw it last week until I saw all the other ads that came before it today :/

like

How many of you are in an interracial relationship? And what are yours and your partner's ethnicities?Just wanted to do a quick poll :)

like

Anyone recently left Ibm..how did you returned your laptop

like

Is thought works a good organization to join , in terms of job security and work life balance ?

like

I really like how the guys in IT industry are helpful to each other.

But, in this cunning world in these times where people merely help each other, why do we (IT Employees) find helping each other ? What is the reason behind?

like

Gents - What perfume/cologne brand do you wear?

like

Anyone know if Fuqua starts phone calls a day earlier like most other schools or do they wait until the release date (this Friday)?

like

Dad’s thinking of starting a PC Richard & Son franchise. Bad idea?

like

Hi guys anyone can share if they are working with pure storage company bengalore location..
What are the perks provided by the company and also what salary should be negotiated at senior vat analyst role .
Thanks in advance..

like

Hi Everyone,

Could you please refer me in Infosys.
I have an experience of 2.9 years in Mindtree as Devops Engineer.
Currently serving my notice period.
Thanks in Advance.

Regards,
Sravani

Hi Any positions for research, account management or power bi ?

like

Red red red

like

I put in a lot of effort to show my client properties that fit their requirements, but they ended up working with a different agent just because they wandered across an open house. I'm so frustrated right now. Has anyone else experienced this?

like

Can someone refer of SAP BASIS profile in VMWARE please?

YOE: 6.4
Notice period : 15 days left

Thanks

Additional Posts in Big Law

New to due diligence and not sure the timeline of projects. Tips to stay organized of the project and timeline, and how to update those leading the deal? Just keep track of new info and provide as necessary?

like

What is a material billable hours difference from your peers at the same group? If I bill 150 less a year than another associate should I be worried?

like

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)?

likefunny

Boston biglaw associates, do you pay for monthly parking and drive into the office? Or do you still ride the T?

like

After you are stealth laid off, other than job search, what do you do? I assume they won’t give you work and even if they do, you can politely decline? How do you feel about you are not progressing anymore and seeing other people progressing in their career? I have no intention to make partner, but still feel a bit stuck not doing that much.

like

Got a callback with a v50 after a screener last week. Extremely busy and everyone is always on my ass about what I'm doing when I'm not logged in. What are the best ways to take a half-day off after taking a half-day already last week?

like

Litigators—how many different cases are you on?

Been feeling spread too thin lately but I don’t know whats typical. Curious what others do. And would you mind sharing whether you’re a junior, midlevel, partner, etc??

I realize sheer number of cases doesn’t tell the whole story… obviously you can be buried on one massive case. I’m finding it hard to jump back and forth between everything I have going on right now, though, but I don’t know if the answer is to just deal with it.

like

Which practice group (m&a, capital markets, or funds) would be best for someone who genuinely doesn’t care about this job/law but wants to stay in biglaw (NYC) as long as possible? Some folks say m&a is more “intellectually stimulating” and I wonder, for that reason, perhaps capital markets might suit me? (I’d rather take mind numbing repetitive tasks over more “challenging” deals)

like

Stimulants make this job easy. I'm surprised more people don't do them

funnylike

I’m a junior in big law and in the short time I’ve been here, I’ve noticed that counsels produce perfect drafts and yet aren’t partners but partners can’t write two sentences without numerous typos. Shouldn’t counsels be partners and partners counsels instead?

like

Are there any books or other resources that mid levels/seniors/counsel/partners on here have found helpful for the project management / managing junior attorney aspects of your job?

I am not finding a lot of stuff written for lawyers specifically , but there is a lot directed at “managers” in business generally that I imagine could be applicable.

like

First year lit associate here. I had a tough time deciding between corporate and lit and chose lit because I wanted to litigate. Its only been a few months but I’m not enjoying the people or the work as it turns out (too many internal investigations and researching obscure issues, haven’t been on a single filed case yet). Anyone else in lit lateral early on in their careers?

like

My firm’s holiday party is on a weekday after work. I can just wear what I’d normally wear to work for that day, right?

likefunny

Recent lateral junior associate in brand new practice where I'm the only associate. I'm probably going to bill 1,500 hours max this year due to being very slow and taking time off for a delayed honeymoon which I disclosed during my interview process. I have been told my work product is good, I don't turn anything down, I participate in non-billable work, I'm responsive and I always let people know I'm available to help. Do I need to be worried about getting fired for low hours?

likefunny

Do you think the “great resignation” was applicable to big law associates? Are these people ever coming back?

like

What are the top litigation practices in LA?

likehelpful

Any insight on Hunton Andrews Kurth Real Estate practice group? Work life balance, type of people in the group etc. Anything at all would be helpful!

like

What corporate practice has better longevity if your goal is to stay in big law for as long as possible: M&A or Capital Markets?

like

What are newly minted nonequity comps like at V10, V50, V100 firms?

like

Im a third year and my current firm isn't bad and I'm pretty comfortable here. Im satisfied most of the time. There is one firm I've been keeping my eyes on because of its similarities to where I currently am (nice people, similar hours, culture).

Im a bit burned out now and I would love to take a long break. I'm hoping I can take a break (2 months) between the transition but is this a good reason to move though? Would you move in my situation? Im sure there will be a signing bonus.

like

New to Fishbowl?

Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
That was just a preview…
Sign Up to see all discussions
  • Discover what it’s like to work at companies from real professionals
  • Get candid advice from people in your field in a safe space
  • Chat and network with other professionals in your field
Sign up in seconds to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.

Already a user?
Login here

Share

Embed this post

Copy and paste embed code on your site

Preview

Download the
Fishbowl app

See what’s happening in your industry
from the palm of your hand.

A phone with Fishbowl app

Scan your QR code to download
Fishbowl app on your mobile

Download app

Sign up for free to view this conversation on Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Already have an account? Log in

Sign up for free to continue using Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use(New) and Privacy Policy(New)
Messaging rates may apply

Already have an account? Log in

For account settings, visit Fishbowl on Desktop Browser or

General

Legal