This may be just a naive/dumb question, but how do you relax when you’ve got a really stressful file? I’m a junior and I’ve been putting in ~10ish billable hours a day recently, which is more than I’m used to. The evenings (post-8pm) are generally my time to decompress - read a book, watch dumb tv, whatever - but it’s been all work lately until 10 or 11pm and I struggle to go straight from work to bed. Any insight on what everyone else does?

Anybody switched from plaintiff to defense later in their career? If so, which did you prefer? Also, I’ve done plaintiff work my entire career - outside of billable hours, in your experience what are some frustrations/challenges that are unique to the defense side? I’m a 10 year attorney looking at some defense jobs right now and they seem a lot more stable with more upward mobility than anything I’ve experienced at a plaintiff firm. Thanks in advance for any comments offered.

Has anyone noticed that busy season is changing into a marathon, not a sprint? I’m working close to 60 billable hours/week year round, and 70+ Feb - April. Is this a bigger trend?

In the event you don’t have enough billable hours/low on projects to fill your timesheet, you ________________

Real talk: does anyone else find all the bragging about super high billable hours kind of sad? There is more to life and it just reads like life not being lived. 😔

Two of my really good friends at work have had their work dry up in the past few months (because of the Rona). I'm like two months ahead of them on hours, and they're worried about not making their minimum billable requirements. Feel sort of guilty and try to avoid talking about hours with them. I'm just hoping the firm doesn't give them trouble...

Excluding doctors and lawyers, do you think that it is fair to say that working as a consultant is a lot more demanding that many other business jobs? (Billable hours, 24/7 availability, etc..)

What are average billable hours for L&E attorneys? TIA!

What does your firm allow you to count towards non-billable hours other than standard business development?

I’m thankfully hitting my hours, but my firm keeps passing non-billable work my way. I am grateful for the opportunities, but this type of work always seems to find its way to the female associates at my firm. We have been told that non-billable work is irrelevant in terms of our annual hours. Any tips on how to navigate this in a thoughtful way? I want to be a team-player, but I believe that others need to step up to the plate.

Any reviews of working at DLA Piper? Looking for London specifically but also interested to know of any other experiences/reviews. Salaries, billable targets et al

I’m a 2017 associate in NYC biglaw. I logged approx. 2300 billable hours in 2019. Is that light, normal or heavy in the biglaw market for RE associates at my level? Thanks in advance for thoughts.

[1/2] Hi all, I apologize because I know there have been posts on this bowl with similar subject matter recently, but I really need advice. I am at a risk of losing my job at the end of this month if I don’t make some changes to my work performance, specifically meeting my monthly billable hour requirement. My work and my work product is not an issue - my partner has repeatedly commended me on everything I produce, but my billable hours are seriously lacking.

Ever been let go before your billable time entries were in? Was let go today and not all of my time made it in as it was due next week. I’m expecting a heavy payout but I’m wondering if they can withhold since my billables are not in? Seems like their loss at this point.

What the most outrageous billable hours you can confirm at your firm? Just learned from a partner that the highest billers at my firm came in at 3600, 3500 and 3200. Seems fishy to me.

I had crazy burnout inducing weeks and I am now on a slower pace finally for the second week this year (~20 billable hours wk). Not sure how well I performed in those weeks prior but deals closed and nothing went wrong at the end. Now I think about what’s lacking in my life (partner, joy, expertise in my field haha) and I just don’t want to work or care to work anymore. Anybody in a similar boat? How did you get out of this?

How do you get 40 hours of billable work done (and then not fall behind on admin stuff) with kids at home!? I have a 4 month old and a 3 yo with care 2 days per week and I don’t think I can do this!! Please help!

What do you all do when you don’t have billable work and are killing time at your desk? Do you try to do things you can bill under “non-billable time” such as read legal articles? Or just bill nothing

Are there any alternatives to billable hours remuneration for creative agencies?

Real estate litigation attorney with 5 years experience and want out of law firm life/billable hours but don’t know what job would be a fit for my skills? How do I find this out?

I’m pretty sure colleagues at my firm are inflating their billable hours. Is this the norm? I suspect many of you will think this is obvious and/or that I’m naive but wtf? I find hitting 2200 is tough even with a good sized work load. Am I just expected to play the game? I don’t want to sound self-righteous but if most are lying just to make the requirement, then maybe the requirement should be lower.

My roommate and best friend refuses to get the covid vaccine whenever it’s available because she believes vaccines gave her sister autism. We’re reaching a point of tension where I can’t bring anything up with her that isn’t topical because she’s going through a lot and becomes easily triggered by anything foreign to her. I can’t move out right now. And it also makes me sad that she’s so close minded about the world. Any advice for coexisting/coping? I predict winter will be tough. TIA...♥️

I don’t understand how people keep posting about the bench and being unassigned. I’m in advisory(not audit) and my entire LoS is trending 90%+ utilization

Will d usi hold internal technical interviews for (Solution Advisor - cyber infra) project allocation ? I'm a lateral hire and yet to be assigned with a project. Kindly enlighten me. Also how many days can one be on the bench usually?

Sources or references available on operating model/business processes specific to health plans (for example: sales and marketing, provider management)?

Stay or go? 3rd year associate 65k salary or go to unrelated industry fp&a focused more towards analytics for 85k

What kind of salary bump can be expected as an associate (not promotion year) when I'm already towards the top of the salary band? (in DC)

Any more delta drink vouchers? Thanks in advance!!

First day back on the job after paternity leave. Never had a harder time leaving the house than this morning...

Does Emirates allow laptop bag and a regular carry on in the cabin? or just one?

Salary for a senior workday consultant in the Seattle area?

Airbnb laid off 25% of its employees today. Which firm is next? I predict it’s us.

How much do you give your kids for an allowance? I have a ten and 13-year-old. I give them 25 bucks a week. They help with our livestock. I live in Phoenix metro area. Lol. When I was a kid, I got five bucks a week.

I got the J&J vaccine (only one I could get back in April) and unlike the MRNA vaccines, it looks like there is very little data on how it performs against the Delta variant. Any other J&Jers out there feeling a little nervous?

I accepted an offer from another firm and gave notice to my direct partner on Friday. He asked me to wait a few days as a courtesy before giving notice to the firm’s managing partner. The partner I work for knows several of the attorneys at the firm where I got the offer. He is now coming back to me and saying my current firm will match the salary, offer better hours, better title, etc. Needless to say, I’m torn. How bad is it to walk back on an accepted offer? We are in a smaller legal market.

I have 800 deductible on my health insurance, can I get tax refund on 800 and any additional money I spent to cover my cost? I don’t have health saving account.

Tell me who you walk with, and I’ll tell you who you are

What's a good billable hour total for 2020? Given covid conditions (we faced slump in work about 2 months) and work from home productivity.

Have planned baby moon to Clearwater in March end . Finally pregnant after struggling for 8 years. OBGYN says it’s my decision to travel or not. What would you do ? ( asking cause of corona virus )