What is the minimum acceptable amount of billable hours per day/week at your firm? What is the target amount?

I’ve been a freelance print production designer for many years, and usually on-site in the before times. Now I work remote, and am finding it uneasy dealing with billing. Before I always billed hourly, which made sense, but it’s becoming an issue now. Some companies don’t have a full days’ work, so it seems wrong to bill full days, and it allows me to juggle projects for different companies, but my billable hours are down. I know I should bill a daily rate, but not sure that will fly. Thoughts?

Billables are low this month. Like I have 65 billable hours in so far. I’ve messaged partners over the last week to try and get more cases but there are tons of new associates who were just onboarded and were at a low point for business. I’m freaking out

Does industry have billable hours? At the big 4, we are required to work a certain number of hours each week and if we spend too much time on anything we are questioned on why it took so long. Is that a thing when you go in industry?

What is a material billable hours difference from your peers at the same group? If I bill 150 less a year than another associate should I be worried?

Is it just me or the average billable work in infrastructure transactions has blown off steam in the last couple of weeks?

My firm’s IT (especially system saving and file locating function) is so bad 😐😞 and they keep doing updates no one asked them for just to mess with the stuff we already got a hang of without doing anything about the issues we actually need fixed. Anyone else in a similar boat? Do you bill the client for the time it takes to fix the IT issue (or IT inefficiency generally, like time taken to find a file in a convoluted system)? Or is that supposed to be our non-billable time?

How do firms give bonuses to associate attorneys? Quarterly, monthly, annually? What is a bonus based on? Money recieved, billable hours, etc?

I'm looking to set up a bonus structure for a new associate.

Recently lateraled as a public defender in HCOL area to ID in LCOL area for $$$. I’ve been at the job a little over a month. My concerns are that I’m getting very little guidance or mentorship, and I’m worried about not hitting billable hours (2000 requirement but I am just over 80 for the first month). I am only in charge of a ~5 cases atm and struggle with figuring out the next steps, etc. I’ve met all my deadlines that have come up. Thoughts or advice?

How many billable hours in a month does it take for you to think you are billing a lot?

Have any of you taken "low bono" clients while working at a firm? I want to take on a low bono client or two but not sure who would get the money. This is a contract opportunity through a non profit so I'm assuming a 1099 will be issued. The per hour rate is significantly less than my billable rate. I would (obviously) like the money but my real objective is just getting experience/networking since I recently moved to a new state and don't have clients of my own.

I heard so much about minimum billable hours here by staff. I never saw that email. Is it inly for certain groups?

Received a job offer. Was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on a concern I had about it. It's an entry level position, and I don't have much experience. The billables are 2040 a year. For billable hours in civil litigation and insurance defense, is 2040 hours for a 1st year associate on the high end in this field for a small or midsize firm? It seems like most attorneys I know have minimum requirements of around 1800. The compensation is around 80k a year.

I’m a 9th year in a mostly litigation-based practice group at a one-tier partnership firm. My group’s billable hours have been low the last few years, so making partner will be nearly impossible, and a counsel position is not viable long-term in my group. What’s the best option here if partnership is the ultimate goal? Try to get a NEP/counsel position at another firm, which is likely difficult in my market, or offer to take a class cut by a few years?

Are any other paralegals struggling with billable hour requirements? I have 5 years of experience in corporate transactions, M&A, and real estate work, and have never had billable hour requirements. I'm in a new job now where I do and I'm nowhere near meeting them. I'm getting a lot more admin work than billable work, and it's stressing me out.

Looking to leave a govt job for a junior attorney role in a small workers comp defense firm. I have no experience in workers comp. How easy is it to learn the work and make 1850 billable hours? What future opportunities does this experience give?

What’s the deal with RFPs? I’ve spent countless [non-billable] hours on several of them only to find out that I’m not included in the actual proposal (the document sent to the client showcasing the proposed case team). Is this normal?

I currently work at a medium sized firm and have about two years experience in personal injury litigation. The billable hours and lack of work life balance are really getting to me and I am looking to switch to something else out of litigation, preferably in house. I am also looking to relocate to a different state. How do I go about properly marketing myself to companies that might not take my relocation and minimal experience seriously?

Mental health is busy, looking for tips to help manage tasks, currently I supervise 12 therapists in 3 different departments that are all different with unique dynamics in each dept. I still carry a small caseload on top of this. I'm struggling with my patients and worry I am not giving them my best, I wax and wane between focusing on patients and therapists. Looking for advice navigating this type od conversation with my leadership, we have all been asked to work on increase billable time...

How does your firm measure utilization? I work for a small boutique that defines it as utilization = number of billable hours/2,080 and full bonus payout occurs at 80% plus.

Anyone else here have terrible utilization because their deals die and a code never opens? /can’t find another code to book hours? I’m sitting on over 200 billable hours at this point

Recommendations for websites or newsletters to subscribe to, to stay informed on anything finance related or deals related? Any podcasts too. Thank you

Republicans will be the first to lock their gated communities when climate change gets out of hand.

Hey can anyone refer me for Agoda careers? I’m very much interested in working with them any leads would be highly appreciated :)

I am joining Deloitte India next week and I have received a mail from the recruitment team that I have assigned with a "Buddy" from Deloitte to help me guide through the beginning.

Is this a normal thing in Deloitte/Big4? What is the significance?

Early in my career and feel like I’m in environments that are really struggling in their SCM development. I would love to spend some time in an org that has good practices to get first hand experience in action. This way I can be better prepared to help clients from a practical perspective. What orgs do you think fit that?

Rise and shine! Any recruiters for CVS 🥹☺️ in the building?

Are there any vacancies for physiotherapist in corporate or IT sector?

Anyone have any guidance on how the Roe v Wade situation has played out at work? Anyone come into any issues with Partners? Or anyone impressed with new policies they’ve brought in to accommodate the issue?

Anyone from BCG Gamma who wouldn’t mind DM?

LA fish: Any ideas for Pro Bono assistance for nonprofit community/cultural orgs? A family member recently joined the board of a nonprofit community/cultural org and is looking for counsel. There are no active legal issues, but they’re just trying to get affairs in order and have systems in place in case any do arise. I’m unable to represent them myself due to my work and lack of experience, and I’m unfamiliar with potential resources. Thank you!

Our firm needs a ln experienced paralegal, is there anyway to find one besides the typical job boards?

Does anyone know if in a dissolution of a 50/50 split-interest LLC goodwill can be attributed solely to one member such that that member gets more than his 50% distribution?

I'm seriously tired of all the injustice done by cops. I've now caught several in blatant lies... On video or on record.

Maybe this is a mild vent but it gets really hard to defend cases where constitutional violations are just being overlooked especially in an area that favors cops! Ugh🥺

White fuzzy mold all over my pothos' soil. What's going on and how do I fix it? Already lost 2 leaves and I'm assuming this mold is the cause.

How do you continue to improve yourself after putting in 50-70 hrs of work a week?

Anyone have experience on a credit strategy fund especially a credit hedge fund? Do they recruit non bankers? I saw an interesting opp but I have very little relevant background with debt (consulting background)

Anyone had luck getting back a deposit? I got admitted to my dream program, but sent a deposit for a different school's earlier deadline.

Hi all,
I just moved here so this might be a dumb question so please don’t judge. Why does my laundry smell like pee and how can I fix it? I used a common washer and dryer in my building. Is it because of that? Is it mold? Is it the water? I air dry my workout leggings and they all smell really weird and I don’t know what to do 😔

Help: good place to take a call in midtown near Bryant Park area? Left office keys at home, and am already on my way there 😰

Is there a market for lawyers to add expertise In crisis management or reputation management? My goal is to counsel clients on how to respond to media inquiries without saying or posting something detrimental to a potential litigation while still maintaining communication with their client base. If so, how to break into that industry? Courses? Books? Certifications?

Can I waive into other UBE jurisdictions using my NY UBE license at any time? Or is there an expiration date for my bar exam score, after which point I won't be able to waive in?

Considering accepting a fully remote role and living in different cities for 6+ months at a time. Anyone else do this and have experiences to share?

Gripe in here about Legal Assistants (more in comments)

First year review: I have to become a better legal writer/ writer in general. Writing was never a strong suit and this has to change.

Please drop book recommendations!!

Thoughts on: 1) the winning brief; 2) point made; 3) legal writing in plain English

Family/Divorce Lawyers: does any one have any recommendations for a family law attorney in PA? Looking for a post-nup. A family member owns assets pre marriage we want to protect and make sure stay in the family in the event of divorce. Family member did a shot gun wedding and we just found out.

I am first year and I got my written reviews today. A partner wrote that I need to be more detail oriented and cited a time I screwed something up for a production. I did screw something up but I owned up to it right away and did everything to fix the issue. It was also in my first few months of practice and I had never made a production before and I was the only associate on the case. How should I handle this during my annual review?

BigLaw M&A: what do you consider to be “big deal” vs a small and medium deal? For example, what do you consider a $150M deal?

Just looked up a firm a recruiter told me about. I would be the only Latino on the roster and among the few that didn’t go to an Ivy League or top 20 law school. I don’t even know if I should bother applying...

I can’t stop sleeping

Protocol for responding (or not) to unsolicited emails from recruiters to your work email? In other words, is it acceptable to just ignore without a response? Or do you prefer to keep the line open with a brief “thanks for thinking of me, I am not interested at this time but hope we can collaborate in the future.”

What was the most memorable pro bono project you've worked on?

I have a promising interview at a relatively large law firm in my area (+100 attorneys) next week. The position is for a transactional role in their real estate practice group, and they are seeking someone with at least 2 YOE. I have a bit over 7 YOE with a strong real estate/commercial lit. background. Over the past two years in my current position, I've been doing a lot more transactional work. The split is around 50% transactional and 50% lit.

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Those of you who have left a firm, do you still keep in touch with any of your former supervisors, via email, happy hour, or otherwise? How long did you wait to re establish contact? I’m in a small market and worry about perception at my current firm. TIA

Absolutely love my direct supervising partner, hate the firm management, pay is mediocre and I could get a 5 digit bump elsewhere, what do I do? (Mid-size insurance defense firm in southeast region)

How do I train my critical thinking skills? Any book recommendations?

The mid-level associate who directly supervises me isn’t being responsive. I am worried about missing a deadline. Should I keep pinging him? Figure it out on my own? Reach out to someone above him?

I’m a first year doing IP due diligence and I’m finding that it’s a great learning opportunity on what *not* to do for contracts/contracting processes.

Has anyone else found this to be true? What are your takeaways?

In your experience, what is the best way to effectively and efficiently delegate work to junior attorneys? Or, if you are a junior attorney, what works well when you are on the receiving end?

Going through some relationship issues and having a hard time focusing at work the past couple of days. Not sure how to prevent my personal life from affecting my work.