Year-Over-Year Hours Check In Forum

[Anonymous User]

NYC Big Law Litigation, 3rd year
3000 - 2400 - 2600 (pace)

This is me. In my first full year (3,000 billable hrs), I had a five-month period where I took a total of two days off and billed 350+ hrs in each of two consecutive months. I was fat, miserable, angry, and just generally awful to be around. I almost quit and told my boss as much.

My second year (2,400 hrs) was totally sustainable. I was really busy at times, but started going to the gym, did shit on weekends, dated, took vacations, etc. If I was guaranteed years like that I'd stay at my firm forever.

This year (2,600 pace) has been up and down. Some periods were totally nuts (billed 115 hrs one week) and then weeks at a time when I had almost nothing to do.

[Anonymous User]

Third year, NYC biglaw, M&A (full years only, i.e., not putting in stub year):

2215 / 2450 / 2900 (pace)

[imalreadyamember?]

NYC Big Law Litigation, 3rd year
3000 - 2400 - 2600 (pace)

This is me. In my first full year (3,000 billable hrs), I had a five-month period where I took a total of two days off and billed 350+ hrs in each of two consecutive months. I was fat, miserable, angry, and just generally awful to be around. I almost quit and told my boss as much.

My second year (2,400 hrs) was totally sustainable. I was really busy at times, but started going to the gym, did shit on weekends, dated, took vacations, etc. If I was guaranteed years like that I'd stay at my firm forever.

This year (2,600 pace) has been up and down. Some periods were totally nuts (billed 115 hrs one week) and then weeks at a time when I had almost nothing to do.

That's nuts. By two days, does that include weekends? Were you doing full work days on weekends that whole time? Shit, I have no idea how you stuck it out but that's awesome. Glad your life/balance seems better now than it was then. Do you have advice on avoiding that kind of fate or was it just a really busy period and a function of the firm you work for?

[patentlitigatrix]

SV biglaw
4th year
2100 - 2000 - 1950 - 2000 (pace)

[Anonymous User]

NY biglaw
3rd year
corporate

2250 - 1850 - 2000 (on pace)

billable hours only, excluding pro bono, bus dev, recruiting, etc. too hard to add those up.

[Anonymous User]

Bump. Anyone been around for a few years despite one low-billable year?

[Lacepiece23]

NYC Big Law Litigation, 3rd year
3000 - 2400 - 2600 (pace)

This is me. In my first full year (3,000 billable hrs), I had a five-month period where I took a total of two days off and billed 350+ hrs in each of two consecutive months. I was fat, miserable, angry, and just generally awful to be around. I almost quit and told my boss as much.

My second year (2,400 hrs) was totally sustainable. I was really busy at times, but started going to the gym, did shit on weekends, dated, took vacations, etc. If I was guaranteed years like that I'd stay at my firm forever.

This year (2,600 pace) has been up and down. Some periods were totally nuts (billed 115 hrs one week) and then weeks at a time when I had almost nothing to do.

That's nuts. By two days, does that include weekends? Were you doing full work days on weekends that whole time? Shit, I have no idea how you stuck it out but that's awesome. Glad your life/balance seems better now than it was then. Do you have advice on avoiding that kind of fate or was it just a really busy period and a function of the firm you work for?

I'm not anon, but I'm almost positive that anon meant weekends too. I've only taken one day off (not including weekends) in the last nine months and I'm no where close to 3k hours. And I don't think that is not normal for biglaw.

[Anonymous User]

Bump

[yay]

NYC Big Law Litigation, 3rd year
3000 - 2400 - 2600 (pace)

Jesus dude. Firm?

Don't want to be too specific. It's a place where my numbers are not out of the ordinary, which narrows it down to a handful, and which one of those doesn't really matter.

Edited for clarity.

did you forgot to correct a typo 3000 ---> 2000 or is this real life? how is this not living in a prison cell doing hard labor for 180K?

[kaysta]

respect / this thread is like a shot of caffeine

ETA do I hear 3150 anyone

[Anonymous User]

Secondary market, trans, 2nd year
2100 - 2400 (pace)

[Anonymous User]

Fourth year at a Secondary Tax/Transactional

2100-2000-2100-2300

[sublime]

Bump

Don't bump threads, especially not as anon.

[Anonymous User]

2100-2300 (pace)

Lit/investigations-2nd year
CA office of v50