Is 180 billable hours per month a high “target” (to use the firm’s vernacular) or expectation?Although it may not be unreasonably high, I believe it is a high number and would at least appreciate someone at my firm acknowledging that. Perhaps I’m wrong and I’m sure you’ll tell me if so.
High target but not impossible. I find 160 to 175 to be a tolerable level where I feel busy but I’m not necessarily losing my mind.
No. 180/Mo is about 45/Week which depending on your practice area is actually less than average. Most attorneys (associates AND partners) strive for around 200/Mo (or 2400/Yesr). If you don’t like long hours, you may have to choose another profession. Sad but true. Been doing it for 33 years and it does get easier but it never gets easy, especially if you are one of the lucky young guns pulling down $250K/year — TO START!
Any advice on how to bill MORE hours? Like how do you find the work to do? Ask the partner? Stay late? I’m new - and j want to hit the hours.
2100 a year? Hope you’re being paid with a fat bonus (both to market rate)
I establish the required minimum billable hours at my firm. It is only 100 hrs/month. Quality of life first. I don’t believe any attorney or staff member needs to die in the work saddle.
Yes. Within the range of “busy month without necessarily ruining my life,” but it’s high as a regular expectation for sure.
I had a 2200 annual requirement at a mid size firm and everyone agreed that was really high. I even had big law colleagues who had less hours than that at around 1800.
How did you hit the hours? What did you do?
Well, fortunately for us, the market is in our favor and we have leverage to demand lower billables.
I was hitting 215 average at my old firm (first year of practice with a 170 minimum) and realized it wasn’t worth the work. Firm gave be a shitty bonus and even shittier raise.
Why go above and beyond for a firm who didn’t take care of me? I’ll just meet my hours and focus on putting out quality work product and taking care of my cases.
My target is 170/month, but you have to have to average at least 180 to be eligible for bonuses. It's definitely doable, but you'll be busy.
For example, in March, I need to average 7.5 billable hours per business day to hit 170.
Prior firm had 163/month requirement but 180 was kind of the expected, “regular busy” pace for lit associates.
@A5, it’s 1,950 per year. I do the same saying mine is 167/month because we have a 2,000 year target
Yeah. That’s a very high target. For context, mine sits between 150 and 160 per month.
My bad. I forgot to include the tax (discount) for the millennials. God forbid these over-fed, over-priced primadinnas or dilettantes should actually have to actually put in a full days work for a full days pay like the rest of the world. And before I get the haters, that is said with love and tongue-in cheek.
Maybe someday I won’t be broke
It doesn’t need to be that bad. I’m an associate at big law and while 180 months aren’t uncommon, it’s definitely a busier month - I’ll have 2 or 3 of those a year. More typical for us be 140-150, but it looks like I’m on the luckier end.
Coach
IMO, It’s a harder target now than it used to be for some areas of practice because clients and carriers have become more cost conscious over the years. The older attorneys of course worked very hard and were Trail Blazers and trial war horses, etc. in their own way, but they had a field day with the billing. They did shit we could never get away with and many still do some of that - because they can and we can’t.
At many firms I have seen things the senior partners bill for on files and I laugh at how total BS their entries are. My entries are all pretty much timed accurately to the second and laid out with specificity and in compliance with any guidelines. If you bill correctly and specifically and honestly/without fraud, it’s not easy to hit that 180 a month. Not easy at all.
Depending on the month it may be high, but not unreasonably high. Part of the ebbs and flows of lit.
Definitely high target but not crazy.
I am at an AmLaw 200 firm in litigation and our target is 167
that’s very high. i haven’t had an 180 month yet
I would say that is relatively high but it depends on your practice area. I worked in ID and billed 170 consistently even when I needed to “viva la vacay” I just worked remote. Most firms recognize the need and pushback for work-life balance.
Do recall, however, that you are an attorney and if you are not working six days a week, it’s because you’re “out to lunch” training the legal intern or teaching the junior associate on how to draft interrogatories. Remember, the legal intern or junior associate only left their desk because they drafted over 35 interrogatories, and in California, they could care less about lunch… they only agreed because they need your signature on a declaration.
I’ve averaged ~180 a month in 11 of my first 16 months at my V10 firm (lit associate). I think it’s probably on the high end, and certainly nobody has ever suggested it was the bare minimum (I just don’t hear either way about hours).
I require 25 billable hours per week/1200 per year. I leave time for my associates to market and learn to develop business and contacts. Oh yeah, and have a life.