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Best big law firms for white collar defense?
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That seems super micro-managey. Not sure how any other office or firm works, but for us... There are three general priorities with respect to hours: 1) is the work done correctly and on time? 2) are you hitting your yearly benchmark? 3) are your monthly numbers adequate to hit your yearly benchmark?
Worrying about week over week hours seems short-sighted and just not helpful.
Good luck!
In biglaw I had one partner who scrutinized DAILY totals... yes, he was absolutely insane in this and pretty much every other regard.
An off week, or even an off month, would not raise eyebrows at my firm.
I was asked “do you need more work”. Without thinking I snapped and responded no I’m just burned out and I’m not sure what to do about that. To which they just stayed quiet and said lmk if you do end up needing work. I’m done with big law.
I’m afraid to do that. Not until life gets to normal and the market is more reliable
Tell them to stop looking every week and to judge you at the end of the year. Annual profits are what matters. Every year I slack hard for at least 2 months and I still always hit high numbers by the end of the year to hit my bonus. Mental health is important even if your bosses don’t care, you should.
Yeah having that exact problem now. I’m also comfortable with my salary without bonus to the point that I honestly don’t care if I am bonus eligible at this point
We’ve been getting that mixed messaging two and personally as well. “Remember to take a break” ... “It’s a marathon not a sprint” ... “prioritize your self care” BUT “finish strong” ... “productivity is down so we need a big push” ... “now is the time to keep heads down and push through”
Mental health of the staff is “important” enough for large firms to pay lip service to it, and even encourage time off, but at the end of the day you are judged by whether you met your quota. That is the most important thing to management, moreso than your mental health, they just can’t say it out loud.
For sure. Also indicates that you’re not at the right firm. Unless the grind until you die sort of lifestyle is your thing.
Definitely. They really should be looking at your billables as a whole, not week by week. Do you think the “your hours went down” talk was about concern over your mental health? Or was your boss insinuating you’re not working hard enough?
Working 16 hours to get 10-12 billables is unsustainable. I work civil defense as well and I try to work 8ish hour days to bill 8+. Is there someone in your firm you can talk to about being more efficient?
Efficient insurance defense attorneys have a bank of templates. I have templates for status reports that cut my thinking/revising time way down and allow me to be very efficient.
You might also be under billing. I am still notorious for that and my year end reviews always mention that I need to bill more for my end product.
I would recommend that you keep a positive outlook on the hours that are being billed and not be overly defensive or concerned about comments.
Keep your confidence about your billing since you’re doing well, which is great for the firm. Keep an eye on how you’re doing each work day and whatever else you have been doing successfully. As others mentioned, quality of work is key, focusing on the clients’ success - all else will fall in place nicely without worries.
Rest well on days off and when you’re not working so you can maximize your success and productivity. Make time for fishing, reading books, watching shows and movies, etc. Hit your goals and overachieve but don’t focus on that.
Keep fighting to “work less and make more” by maximizing the energy and quality of your work (even though you’re putting in a lot of hours) - don’t overdo it or overthink it and believe in yourself always. Emulate other successful attorneys and monster billers but be yourself and don’t fall into the traps of others since nobody is perfect. Good luck!
I’ve never understood giving associates a hard time about hours. 99.9% of associates, especially in larger firms, have little ability to increase them without being given more work. If I see someone consistently has low hours relative to the group (ie at least 2-3 weeks that way), I’ll ask what’s going on in their matters and if they have room will give them something new. But I don’t pressure people like they’re partners expected to generate business.
I’m in the same boat a lot of the time and have been 200-300 hours over the target for the bulk of the year. I’ve noticed if I take a week to be slower than the rush, I get emails asking if I have time. Sometimes I think it’s because people want to work with you so and think they’ll give the ask a shot.