There is one paralegal in my team who is padding his hours on cases I have to review. How can I tell to stop doing that in a nice way? I am getting tired of having to write down his time constantly.

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I believe you, but how do you know he’s padding his time? That might be an in to how you can approach it.

I know because I read the narratives he enters and I know his work product well enough to know how much time it should take him for the tasks he performed.

Like every difficult conversation people ask on this app, there is no substitute for just saying what needs to be said. We’re lawyers and we have to be comfortable or at least ok with being direct even though not everyone will be happy about it.

True. I will find the right time to have this conversation with him.

Is this “routine” work or project? It could be that they were trained to bill “x” time for a particular task regardless of how long it tasks (over or under the actual time).

Alternatively, I would ask why it’s taking longer than you would expect the task to be done. There may be things involved you’re not aware of - no matter how routine the task may seem.

I agree. But I’ve heard of firms allowing this

Don’t tell him he’s padding his time, tell him you’re having to write off his hours constantly because they don’t fit the client’s budget and please could you be so kind to ensure you’re entering your time as efficiently as possible.

Ex-para here. You need to have this convo ASAP. You also need to give clearer instructions: Please work on Task X. It should take no longer than Y. If you expect to exceed Y, I need to know in advance. This client is highly cost-conscious and we've had to write down your hours on previous Tasks A,B and C. I need better communication from you re complexity or taking longer than Y on X, and for all things for this client on a go-forward basis. I do not want to be surprised at the end of the month. I also need you to commit to entering your time no later than 48 hrs after worked, ideally next day, as this client requests mid-month estimates frequently.

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