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Document the instruction and the time you self-edited.
Do not stress about it unless it becomes an issue requiring explanation.
If during your review your hours are low and it comes up, this is when you bring it up.
Rising Star
Speak with your office managing partner.
Rising Star
I would most definitely include the instruction to write down time and the resulting 200 hours you lost in any review/achievement memo you submit. I would also raise this with the partner instructing you to write down am your time and explain how his individual instructions conflicts with firm policies and the effect it has had on your billable totals. That is a substantial amount of time and I would have a major issue with continuing on that basis.
100% this
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That's a huge amount. We have one partner who asks us to do that, but the managing partner of the firm told us never to do that and to instead make the partner write it off at his level. Apparently this partner is in hot water for having so many write offs (basically giving away free legal services). So he is trying to make it look less extreme by never having to write it off in the first place.
200 hours is huge. I'd speak to the managing partner about it.
I just wouldn’t follow their instructions.
I would tell on him, honestly. At my firm, there was a GC/ombudsman type who’d regularly send out email reminders every few months that partners are not allowed to make associates write their own time off, and associates were supposed to be able to complain to him in confidence if any violations and he’d get it resolved and make sure you didn’t get retaliated against. Your firm may have something similar. You may have an employee handbook or something with instructions, check your onboarding materials. If not, I’d still maybe take it up with another partner you trust/managing partner of your group and see if they have any ideas. Your partner is breaking the rules and you shouldn’t be missing out on your bonus because of it - it is not really a “bonus” it is deferred compensation and it is owed to you. One thing to do it on occasion as a favor for a partner/client you like working with and want to build your relationship with, but sounds like this guy is just taking advantage if it’s regular and adding up to like 200 hours. But you do need to be prepared that this partner may just refuse to send you work in the future. He probably would get scolded but not fired. Are there enough other partners you can do work for?
This is risky. First, the write offs may be necessary because you are not efficient and the partner is shielding you from management scrutiny. Or, the partner may have cheap clients and is a jerk. The ultimate question is whether you want to work with this partner in the future and potentially make an enemy. I’d start with a frank conversation with the partner. Say that you are concerned about the amount of time you are being asked to write off because you have billable hour requirements. This may be a one-case or one-matter issue, and, if you do this, you’ll establish loyalty. But, again, the partner may just be a dud.
I would figure out a way to casually mention it in conversation with another partner, or better yet, the managing partner of your group. Then watch the partner in question never ask you to write off your own time again.
Associate 3 - you are in a good firm. In my case, the up level doesn’t even read the emails. They only care if it’s done. So everyone pushes down work as much as they can. I can copy senior partners on everything but they don’t read these emails unless there’s a problem.
Also, when it comes to review, there’s a junior partner said I Bill too many hours to his deal. Truth is he doesn’t lift a finger and then he bills his time to it as well. Yes with our billing rates the bill will be too high, then in review, he wrote that I just Bill too many hours (after I already wrote down my hours).
I think this really hurts me. The junior partner has been with the group for over 10 years. He’s got much more trust from the senior partner than me. He never responds to emails. Every question I have, I have to email or call him multiple times. Yes he’s busy extremely busy, he claims that he bills 2700-2800 hours every year but his non response makes me look bad in front of senior partners and clients. As if I’m not getting my work done on time, in fact it’s him not signing off on the draft
Similar to what A3 is saying, double check why you’re writing off (carefully of course). The last firm I worked for, we got credit for the time billed but written off by partners. However, there was a ratio we had to maintain between billed and written off and hours actually billed to the client. You might review your hours to make sure the partner’s instruction isn’t related to your actually billed ratio. (Doesn’t sounds like it, but another angle to consider.)
You should never write off your own time IMO. I don’t ever write off time when a partner asks. You can avoid this by releasing time every day. If it’s already released when they ask, youand do anything 🤷🏻♀️
Do you have a mentor that you could talk to? This is not the right practice. I get why the partner is wanting you to write it off before it goes to the billing department because it makes his or her profitability percentages work Hire. If you submit your available hours and then the partner rights at all, that counts against their numbers and makes their margins lower. That being said, as an associate, you’re supposed to use this time to learn. I always tell associates to write down all of the time that they spent on any project and if I need to write it off, then I will. If I noticed that they are having a pattern of spending too much time on things, then I tell them how much time I want them to spend on the next assignment. Maybe you should tell him that you were Losing way too many billable hours. You would like to write down all of the hours that you work and if he or she feels like they need to write off your time, they can do so. If it’s someway negatively impacts them to do that, then they can tell you on the front end how many hours to spend on a project and he will try your best to stick within those limits. 
That ain’t right. Try to get confirmation in email from partner In case questioned later
F that MF—bill everything
Not sure how big you firm is. You need to speak to your group’s head partner or the managing partner. Partners do this so they don’t write off against their receivables. Then their collections seem to be higher. It’s one thing to ask you to be conservative or efficient, it’s another thing to ask you not to bill for your time. If he has underbid to a client, then he has to take the hit. Not you.
Oh wow this one really took off. Thanks for the insight everyone!
I work in a midsize firm (roughly 250 attorneys) in a southern city. The partner I described is actually the only one in our new and pretty niche practice area. I do work for some other partners too, but this is area is where my interests really lie so I can’t afford to burn this bridge with him if I want to stay at my firm. I know there are other associates who would gladly take my place if he decides he doesn’t want to work with me because I reporter it or whatever.
Also, I really don’t think it’s an issue of my inefficiency - I’ve never had another partner do this to me, even when I was a first year. I’m a third year now. And I’ve consistently gotten good reviews.
But honestly, I’ve been wanting to leave for a bit and this is probably gonna be the thing that pushes me. Ugh.
Thanks for the advice y’all 🙃
Pro
If this is recent it could be because clients are tightening their budgets, just a thought.
Recently, a client complained about the amount of a bill. I had been deficient in keeping in contact with the client and I didn’t want the client to leave the firm because of my error. I told the partner to write off the time and write it off on my time )as if it never happened). I didn’t think it was fair for the partner to take the hit. He wrote off the time but wouldn’t take the time from me. That’s the type of partner you want. And we kept the client. They admitted they had also been deficient in keeping in contact.
I also want to add, when you get senior, as long as you have over 2k, it will be good. If you Bill 3000, do people really think highly of you? They know you are inflating your hours or you are just not efficient. To me, someone who’s billing 2000-2200 has much more brain power than someone who bills 3000. If you Bill 3000 you are probably a zombie most of the day. With rare exceptions of those super genuis who don’t need to sleep and make equity partner at watchtell
You sound like someone you would suspect to be billing 3000.
Admittedly I’m only at a V100 firm, but at my firm, that doesn’t fly. Unless you’re on the verge of making partner and you have to justify your profitability, the message I’ve received (and abided by) is that the partner is responsible for writing off your time. If you write it off yourself, you get penalized hours wise and the firm doesn’t see that you put in that time.
Like a lot of things, this depends and requires some judgment and consideration of context. Once in a great while, there can be good reasons for not recording some time, but those should be rare and not significant. If someone gets the wrong idea from this thread and blows up a minor situation involving a one-off situation that is immaterial, that isn’t a good career move.
That is vastly different from being asked to do it frequently or resulting in a major hit to your billables. 200 hours from one partner is way beyond that line.
I would bring it up with that partner first, directly, and depending on the reaction, talk to another trusted partner. I would only put it in a memo or formalize the issue if I hit roadblocks.
I would discuss it with the partner. I had one do this to me consistently. She’s write off all my time but leave her time which was just review. I discussed with her to see if it was a performance issue. It wasn’t. Then, another partner I trusted. It stopped after that...
We’re not permitted to tell associates to cut their own time.
Are you me a year ago? This is why I lateraled.