Billing scenario Forum

[Anonymous User]

Here's the scenario:

-Junior associate, transactional practice.
-Some papers are supposed to get signed tonight. It's now 11pm.
-No movement in about 2 hours, except continued assurances that we are in fact signing tonight.
-Senior associate insists that I stay in the office for reasons that cannot be articulated or explained. Our papers are ready to go.
-I have not had actual work to do in about 45 minutes.

Do you bill?

[MKC]

Do you have anything else you can work on?

[Desert Fox]

Attention to closing (3 hours)

[MKC]

Attention to closing (3 hours)

This kind of thinking is why DF's getting his name on the door someday.

[Anonymous User]

Do you have anything else you can work on?

None at all. Ran out a while ago.

[FlightoftheEarls]

Do you have anything else you can work on?

None at all. Ran out a while ago.

Yes, you should bill this time. As a general matter, if you have other assignments that you can be working on in the downtime then you should try to attend to those and allocate that time to those matters. However, if your client (or in this case, the senior who is communicating with the client) ever asks you to remain in the office and be available from 8 p.m. until [X] a.m. because of an anticipated signing (even if nothing ever happens) and there is nothing else for you to work on, you 100% bill your time to that client. The partner can write it down if (s)he desires, but you're not staying at work for the joy of it - you're there at the client's request.

[mvp99]

Here's the scenario:

-Junior associate, transactional practice.
-Some papers are supposed to get signed tonight. It's now 11pm.
-No movement in about 2 hours, except continued assurances that we are in fact signing tonight.
-Senior associate insists that I stay in the office for reasons that cannot be articulated or explained. Our papers are ready to go.
-I have not had actual work to do in about 45 minutes.

Do you bill?

How common is this? Unexplained requests with unexplainable deadlines.

[Anonymous User]

Do you have anything else you can work on?

None at all. Ran out a while ago.

Yes, you should bill this time. As a general matter, if you have other assignments that you can be working on in the downtime then you should try to attend to those and allocate that time to those matters. However, if your client (or in this case, the senior who is communicating with the client) ever asks you to remain in the office and be available from 8 p.m. until [X] a.m. because of an anticipated signing (even if nothing ever happens) and there is nothing else for you to work on, you 100% bill your time to that client. The partner can write it down if (s)he desires, but you're not staying at work for the joy of it - you're there at the client's request.

How would you bill that time? Go with DF's "Attention to Closing," or do you have something else in mind?

[FlightoftheEarls]

Do you have anything else you can work on?

None at all. Ran out a while ago.

Yes, you should bill this time. As a general matter, if you have other assignments that you can be working on in the downtime then you should try to attend to those and allocate that time to those matters. However, if your client (or in this case, the senior who is communicating with the client) ever asks you to remain in the office and be available from 8 p.m. until [X] a.m. because of an anticipated signing (even if nothing ever happens) and there is nothing else for you to work on, you 100% bill your time to that client. The partner can write it down if (s)he desires, but you're not staying at work for the joy of it - you're there at the client's request.

How would you bill that time? Go with DF's "Attention to Closing," or do you have something else in mind?

Yeah, it would typically be something along the lines of "Attend to signing matters, incl. prep. of [all the shit you had been doing that day leading up to the signing]." I tend to be a bit more likely to block bill the closer I get to a hectic signing or closing, but I've never had any pushback on it since those tend to be occasions when the client is fully aware that everyone is pushing at all hours at their behest.

[Actus Reus]

Attention to closing (3 hours)

This is correct

[BeenDidThat]

Here's the scenario:

-Junior associate, transactional practice.
-Some papers are supposed to get signed tonight. It's now 11pm.
-No movement in about 2 hours, except continued assurances that we are in fact signing tonight.
-Senior associate insists that I stay in the office for reasons that cannot be articulated or explained. Our papers are ready to go.
-I have not had actual work to do in about 45 minutes.

Do you bill?

How common is this? Unexplained requests with unexplainable deadlines.

It's called biglaw, and it exists in many major American cities.

[homestyle28]

Attention to closing (3 hours)

This is correct

...per [Sr. Assoc.]