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Iam planning to do certification that don't have no programming AND IT SHOULD have very good scope inmarket and able to switch within tcs with high package, please suggest me that kind of certification.TIA 🙏 Accenture Infosys IBM Amazon Tata Consultancy Bosch Group Hexaware Technologies PwC India Oracle Hitachi
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What type of firm do you work at, and who told you that you take too long? I’ve never heard of someone being told they take too long when deadlines are met, and a cynical mind could say that most firms encourage over-billing. It’s usually the partners’ work to cut down time where appropriate. One solution would be to work with other partners. If that can make you feel better, I don’t think you are doing anything wrong.
Rising Star
Btw- I’ve noticed in the past decade or so (in both Midlaw and Biglaw) increasing client pressure to keep fees down (perhaps bc of the exponentially high increases in billing rates) and thus more pressure from partners on associates to be “more efficient”.
They don’t want to hear the clients complain and don’t want to get dinged by the firm for write offs bc generally there’s a threshold, formal or unspoken (ie must average at least a 90% realization rate).
They want everything done with the same quality but in half the time. I’ve been doing this for over 2 decades and rarely if ever felt that pressure the first half of my career.
I'm not an attorney, but I have been in the legal profession longer than you have and have observed the culture at several law firms. So, first off, don't take the partner(s)' behavior personally, a lot of partners have unreasonable expectations of employees, and if they do, sometimes it means you need to move onto a healthier environment. Second, as someone who was at multiple firms where unreasonable expectations and ambiguously insulting feedback was hurled at me, I have found the best way to fight back is to MAKE the criticizer accountable for explaining to you HOW to meet their metrics. Something like "okay, if you want me to take less time, how do you suggest I get there exactly?" or "do you have any advice on how to meet those metrics?" OR, I'd ask them which associate they think is the most efficient in the firm, and I'd try to connect with them and ask them for pointers on how they do things, or try to get references/templates for some of the assignments you're getting to work off of, so that you save yourself the time that would have been spent reinventing the wheel. There are ways around unreasonable expectations, and if all else fails, I'd find another firm where they are more understanding of your learning curve.
Perfect response ❤️🥰 it matters who you work for, particularly in the early stages of your legal career, as that experience will determine a lot going forward.
Saw your note that there’s only one partner. Are you turning down work? I guess I could see them having other work they wanted to send you but couldn’t because you were at capacity or they assumed you were since the other work was still pending (that’s on them for not asking).
I generally agree with the others who say it’s on the partner to cut time as they see fit, but at the same time I think the convo is totally fair. I’d be peeved if concerns about my efficiency came up for the first time during my review.
I understand, no I have never turned down work, and I have never missed an assigned deadline. I do sometimes get open ended assignments with no specific deadline and I think the issue is that I’m taking too long on those. My counter argument is simply that those open ended assignments typically take longer, like responding to Rogs RPDS and so based off the convo I had yesterday with my office manager, I need to get quicker and not bill so much. I am new, and I am learning how to bill, as well as how to navigate these personalities at the new firm. My Partner has a hire slow, fire fast mentality that he likes to voice, and admittedly that does not give me great confidence in this team. All I can do is learn and keep moving and doing my best
I have never been told that. If anything that’s the partners jobs to write it off.
Do you ask how much time you should spend on an assignment? Then if you need extra time let the partner know.
Agreed. A stern lecture is not necessary, but a discussion regarding the time permitted to bill or complete certain types of work should take place initially in order to manage expectations.
I’m trying very hard here and always seem to fall short. Don’t even know at this point if this profession is for me.
I can barely keep myself in this profession. Keep getting gate blocked.
How big is your firm and do you have any ideas as to how fee-sensitive the firm’s clients are? I suspect what is really happening is the clients are fee sensitive and the partner(s) you work for are displacing the business issues will billing onto you instead of acknowledging fee sensitive clients. I would try to do my best to get work out in a bit less time even if you feel you are sacrificing a bit on quality. Easier said than done I admit.
Yup. I feel this is their way of saying “we want less quality and more product”. If the values of the firm don’t align with your personal and professional values, seek a new place. Alternatively, ask your boss for suggestions on what’s the best way to tackle the issue in a speedy manner, or how much time does he intend you to spend on the matter.
Rising Star
As others have said, it is the partner’s job to adjust the time as needed. That said, we generally have an idea of how much time a given task should take. First, we often forget that for new people performing a task for the first time, it will naturally take longer as you carefully review everything for the first time, read every word of the boilerplate language that we skim (or skip if it’s our template), and otherwise just naturally takes a bit longer your first time. Second, if a task itself is longer, more complicated or more in-depth than usual, this can increase your time spent. Either way, you can help the partner by writing detailed descriptions and explaining why you may have taken longer (ex: “First time review of X document” or “Draft Y pleading with 100+ counts”). Check with your seniors on how best to phrase these timekeeping entries so it’s clear why it took longer.
Hi
The mentality of the partner who trained me in was “take as long as you need to do the task carefully and well - your learning now, there is a reason we bill you at 1/2 my rate”
I found this mentality very conducive to being trained in.
They want you to learn on your free time. Not ethical to bill clients for the time it takes you to get up to speed with the types of cases you’re working on. It was on the MPRE.