On track for my first 200+ month. Before this the closest I billed was 180. Idk how people can do this for months and years at a time, esp in litigation where practice is intellectually rigorous and not just collecting sig pages or whatever.

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FYI this thread isn’t to invite people to brag about how long they can bill or whatever. I need sanity from someone acknowledging that litigators need to chill out

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lol people who bill that much on an hours basis are being paid minimum wage, and getting absolutely scummed by their firm. I try to bill around the expectation or a little over, so about 160 a month.

As for how it’s done, there’s a lot of padding involved. No one billing 300 isn’t padding. Because they’re using the excuse that they’re working so hard it’s ok to pad in their mind. So they do. Maybe they’re working a legit 240, when billing 300 or a legit 200 when billing 250. But this is all speculation.

I really don’t see how it’s possible to do more than 200 legit hours. That’s 10 hours of pure work each work day. That’s not a small amount of work if you are actually using your brain.

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I feel the same way. I feel like literally all I’ve done this month is bill, save for a few hours here and there to physically rest or save my brain from shutting down, hear a human voice, eat, clean, take care of my dog. I had to pull two all nighters. And this is “only” 200-210 hours. I can see how someone can make it to like 240-250 by literally having zero rest including weekends but more seems physically impossible unless you’re billing for like sitting around or smth

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Ptsd of my defense days billing 60 hours a week hating my life #dogdaysareover

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I don’t understand how you physically bill 250-300 a month

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250+ a few months ago. And it wasn’t even a trial.

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I’ve been billing 240+ for the last year and a half except for December 2023. I feel physically sick and I’m on the verge of quitting.

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No idea how you didn’t quit or breakdown after the first few months

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Billed 210 for the first time last month and it absolutely killed me

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I work in government, have for 5 years. My one year in biglaw, first year out of school, helped me afford a down payment on a house, a dog, and paying off a chunk of my loans. Grass is always greener! However, once you’ve banked enough money you should bounce absolutely, it does sound miserable.

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Oh yeah I wound up here out of weird circumstances but I’m getting outta here next fall hopefully. Love that you have a dog bc of BL though

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I find billing higher hours in litigation to be easier, BECAUSE it is intellectually stimulating and not just mindless work. 200 is a bit on the high side, unless you are building up spare time for a vacation.

Agree 100%. Too much intellectually difficult work is exhausting. Too much mindless doc review will drive you crazy. If you're going to be billing a lot of hours, balance makes it at least tolerable.

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