What are your hours targets in BigLaw? Forum

[cfcm]

but like honestly if i could get paid $5k less to do the exact same work but never have to even track my hours, much less be aware of them, i'd take that in a heartbeat. one of the worst parts of the biglaw gig: not only do you give up such a huge percentage of your life, but you have to be really precisely aware of just how much you're giving

edit: I guess that's called going in-house or gov

Maybe I'm outing myself as a weirdo but I think this is the one super common biglaw complaint that I don't really understand. I'd say it takes me two minutes a day to do time entries, tops.

Stub year?

Nope

[Anonymous User]

but like honestly if i could get paid $5k less to do the exact same work but never have to even track my hours, much less be aware of them, i'd take that in a heartbeat. one of the worst parts of the biglaw gig: not only do you give up such a huge percentage of your life, but you have to be really precisely aware of just how much you're giving

edit: I guess that's called going in-house or gov

Maybe I'm outing myself as a weirdo but I think this is the one super common biglaw complaint that I don't really understand. I'd say it takes me two minutes a day to do time entries, tops.

Dwo you not have to write-up a legit narrative of what you did? Ours goes straight to client pretty much, and clients won't pay for "did diligence." I don't think the process of timekeeping is all that bad, but it can be frustrating to be accurate while remaining honest.

If I'm billing more than 4 hours / day to a matter, it's 100% getting a "attended to deal matters" - if a deal near signing or closing, clients know what we're doing (as much as a client ever really knows what lawyers are doing) and aren't going to question anything. If I have a one-off task, I'll be specific because the unexpected $4,000 bill is the one a client is going to ask what the hell is this.

On the "pro-tip" above - save yourself the stress / paranoia and absolutely do not do that. Absolutely bill every second to a client that you are giving them your time, but if you're making up hours it's inevitable that eventually someone will ask you what the random hour was about, and I'm sure that's a situation nobody wants to be in.

[PvblivsScipio]

but like honestly if i could get paid $5k less to do the exact same work but never have to even track my hours, much less be aware of them, i'd take that in a heartbeat. one of the worst parts of the biglaw gig: not only do you give up such a huge percentage of your life, but you have to be really precisely aware of just how much you're giving

edit: I guess that's called going in-house or gov

Maybe I'm outing myself as a weirdo but I think this is the one super common biglaw complaint that I don't really understand. I'd say it takes me two minutes a day to do time entries, tops.

Stub year?

Nope

Time entries are annoying but I don't that's what is being referred to as stressful. Is having to keep track/generally be aware of how much you're billing and the stress of making hours, not getting fired, etc.

[Sirius Blackstone]

Man I need to apply at some of y'all's firms. 220+ is busy? I haven't billed less than 250 in 3 months, including one 290 hour month. This amount of work is depressing and overwhelming and I currently have no life outside of work. I didn't realize I was that far outside the norm.

[sublime]

Man I need to apply at some of y'all's firms. 220+ is busy? I haven't billed less than 250 in 3 months, including one 290 hour month. This amount of work is depressing and overwhelming and I currently have no life outside of work. I didn't realize I was that far outside the norm.

250 avg is a 3000 year. Seems pretty outside the norm to me. Unless you are like on trial.

[Davidbentley]

but like honestly if i could get paid $5k less to do the exact same work but never have to even track my hours, much less be aware of them, i'd take that in a heartbeat. one of the worst parts of the biglaw gig: not only do you give up such a huge percentage of your life, but you have to be really precisely aware of just how much you're giving

edit: I guess that's called going in-house or gov

Maybe I'm outing myself as a weirdo but I think this is the one super common biglaw complaint that I don't really understand. I'd say it takes me two minutes a day to do time entries, tops.

Stub year?

Nope

Time entries are annoying but I don't that's what is being referred to as stressful. Is having to keep track/generally be aware of how much you're billing and the stress of making hours, not getting fired, etc.

Yes. It's the quantification of your efforts into 6 minute increments that grinds. I sometimes feel "yes it was only 12 minutes (.2), but I was really, really good in those 12 minutes."

[Sirius Blackstone]

Man I need to apply at some of y'all's firms. 220+ is busy? I haven't billed less than 250 in 3 months, including one 290 hour month. This amount of work is depressing and overwhelming and I currently have no life outside of work. I didn't realize I was that far outside the norm.

250 avg is a 3000 year. Seems pretty outside the norm to me. Unless you are like on trial.

Yeah this has been my busiest stretch so far - a few cases all got busy at the same time. Overall I would say my year averages out to 190-200/month. I had started to think maybe I wasn't working hard enough.

[Hutz_and_Goodman]

I don't understand people complaining about timekeeping either. I put in my hours every day either at night before I leave or first thing the following morning. Putting in time takes 2-4 minutes, and keeping time is pretty easy.

[sublime]

Time keeping is a nightmare, and I doubt that you can put in sufficiently detailed (for me) entries in 2 to 4 min a day.

[beepboopbeep]

Yea "attended to deal matters" would not fly at my firm. Especially in 4+ hour blocks.

[Mr. Peanutbutter]

lol try filing your time entries with the court y’all would be fired so fast

[EliotAlderson]

lol try filing your time entries with the court y’all would be fired so fast

By you or the court?

[Anonymous User]

lol try filing your time entries with the court y’all would be fired so fast

By you or the court?

Lol@debtors/Committee gigs

[Pokemon]

Yea "attended to deal matters" would not fly at my firm. Especially in 4+ hour blocks.

Agreed. Sometimes i do not even bill sometime cause it is too much of a pain to describe/enter. Fortunately, no more than 2-3 hours a month.

[Desert Fox]

DF Thread