New associate fuck up thread (and tips for slacking) Forum

[baal hadad]

no one in my office wears headphones

[los blancos]

What is the consensus on "background noise" music. I.e. Playing music (think Dave Matthews type music) through computer speakers at a low volume throughout day. Inaudible from hall way, but audible if someone were to step in your office.

ok as long as it's not dave matthews

[Anonymous User]

What is the consensus on "background noise" music. I.e. Playing music (think Dave Matthews type music) through computer speakers at a low volume throughout day. Inaudible from hall way, but audible if someone were to step in your office.

ok as long as it's not dave matthews

*Avett Brothers* ...I actually hate dave, but used it for a frame of reference

[20160810]

As long as it's not loud I can't imagine anyone would care but maybe check with IT and make sure streaming isn't an issue

[Anonymous User]

The focus thing is such a drain. Making my firm an extra $75 in lieu of reading a CNN article for 10 min is a crazy concept. Plus all the more senior people with good balanced lives are always on their A-game. Focusing enough to have that 90 percent efficiency seems to be the one and only trick to having a balanced life.

[Anonymous User]

I'll sometimes shave a .1 here or there if my mind was wandering, but I just billed 6.5 for a four page memo and research that would have been obvious for a more experienced attorney (spent about two hours researching the wrong legal theory, about 45 minutes confirming that a commonsense term didn't have special meaning in finance, and about 90 minutes diagramming how two code sections and the regulations interacted, plus my brain is fried). I'm billing all of it, because my billing rate reflects that I have no experience; if a mid year did it in an hour, it would have cost about the same. I think I'm going to get a little flak from my partner when he writes an hour or two off, but it's the cost of doing business (plus, it's not like I would have been billing something else at midnight on a Friday).

[Anonymous User]

I'll sometimes shave a .1 here or there if my mind was wandering, but I just billed 6.5 for a four page memo and research that would have been obvious for a more experienced attorney (spent about two hours researching the wrong legal theory, about 45 minutes confirming that a commonsense term didn't have special meaning in finance, and about 90 minutes diagramming how two code sections and the regulations interacted, plus my brain is fried). I'm billing all of it, because my billing rate reflects that I have no experience; if a mid year did it in an hour, it would have cost about the same. I think I'm going to get a little flak from my partner when he writes an hour or two off, but it's the cost of doing business (plus, it's not like I would have been billing something else at midnight on a Friday).

Also, black car to the suburbs. No idea of the cost, but YOLO.

[fats provolone]

the worst thing about timers is when you start overlapping nights into days regularly. you'd think big law timekeeping software would deal with that scenario better

[El Pollito]

the worst thing about timers is when you start overlapping nights into days regularly. you'd think big law timekeeping software would deal with that scenario better

i hate when the software asks if i worked past midnight by accident

[Kronk]

Do you guys regularly work past midnight? How many hrs are you billing a year, 2500+?

[El Pollito]

Do you guys regularly work past midnight? How many hrs are you billing a year, 2500+?

probably 2200 or 2300. i usually take a break around 8 but stuff pretty regularly comes up late at night and then i'll have to do it from home.

[Johann]

im on 1850 pace and bill after midnight probably once every other week. about 5 times per year there is also travel and redeye shit involved so my billed hours will be something like 4am-5am the next day and then 9am-5pm that day. i never use timers because i like to assign my time on those rather than letting the software automatically choose.

[Kronk]

Do you guys regularly work past midnight? How many hrs are you billing a year, 2500+?

probably 2200 or 2300. i usually take a break around 8 but stuff pretty regularly comes up late at night and then i'll have to do it from home.

damn. you guys are definitely earning that $200k. touche.

i think i am on pace for like 1750 or so and it feels like a lot of work to me.

[El Pollito]

Do you guys regularly work past midnight? How many hrs are you billing a year, 2500+?

probably 2200 or 2300. i usually take a break around 8 but stuff pretty regularly comes up late at night and then i'll have to do it from home.

damn. you guys are definitely earning that $200k. touche.

i think i am on pace for like 1750 or so and it feels like a lot of work to me.

1750 is still a lot of work. thinking critically and being really detail oriented all day every day is psychologically exhausting.

[Anonymous User]

Do you guys regularly work past midnight? How many hrs are you billing a year, 2500+?

probably 2200 or 2300. i usually take a break around 8 but stuff pretty regularly comes up late at night and then i'll have to do it from home.

damn. you guys are definitely earning that $200k. touche.

i think i am on pace for like 1750 or so and it feels like a lot of work to me.

1750 is still a lot of work. thinking critically and being really detail oriented all day every day is psychologically exhausting.

This. My patience for it decreases each year.

[baal hadad]

Do you guys regularly work past midnight? How many hrs are you billing a year, 2500+?

probably 2200 or 2300. i usually take a break around 8 but stuff pretty regularly comes up late at night and then i'll have to do it from home.

damn. you guys are definitely earning that $200k. touche.

i think i am on pace for like 1750 or so and it feels like a lot of work to me.

1750 is still a lot of work. thinking critically and being really detail oriented all day every day is psychologically exhausting.

yes

[fats provolone]

Do you guys regularly work past midnight? How many hrs are you billing a year, 2500+?

probably 2200 or 2300. i usually take a break around 8 but stuff pretty regularly comes up late at night and then i'll have to do it from home.

damn. you guys are definitely earning that $200k. touche.

i think i am on pace for like 1750 or so and it feels like a lot of work to me.

i hit 2500 in october. but i had a trial so not exactly a typical year.

[Anonymous User]

This brings up 2 q's. (1) What tips do people have for focusing better when doing things like doc review or diligence? It is very hard. (2) Do you bill real time if you're at 65% efficiency?

(1) No idea. Maybe people take adderall. Lemme know if you find out. Music helps sometimes.

(2) i use a timer and I bill all of it. Timer is off if I'm on tls/twitter/texting/chatting with someone in the hall/whatever. I don't write off any time for zoning out/being somewhat distracted/glancing at the TV or whatever in part because I feel like it's < the time lost on random small stuff and just thinking about a case when not at work.

This is all accurate. Billing for a full hour when you spent 20 minutes on ESPN.com is fraud, which is bad, so don't do that. Just use timers and goof off all you want.

What keeps you motivated to not fudge the numbers, is it a sense of loyalty to the clients or fear of getting caught?

[los blancos]

This brings up 2 q's. (1) What tips do people have for focusing better when doing things like doc review or diligence? It is very hard. (2) Do you bill real time if you're at 65% efficiency?

(1) No idea. Maybe people take adderall. Lemme know if you find out. Music helps sometimes.

(2) i use a timer and I bill all of it. Timer is off if I'm on tls/twitter/texting/chatting with someone in the hall/whatever. I don't write off any time for zoning out/being somewhat distracted/glancing at the TV or whatever in part because I feel like it's < the time lost on random small stuff and just thinking about a case when not at work.

This is all accurate. Billing for a full hour when you spent 20 minutes on ESPN.com is fraud, which is bad, so don't do that. Just use timers and goof off all you want.

What keeps you motivated to not fudge the numbers, is it a sense of loyalty to the clients or fear of getting caught?

Combination of the former + karma + integrity being worth infinitely more than some 1%er partner stacking more cash. I figure it already sucks for clients that litigation is so stupidly expensive so I care a lot about working efficiently and using their money wisely.

I could write up my time by 20% and would have a 0% chance of being caught. It's not really a deterrent unless you're an abject moron.

[20160810]

This brings up 2 q's. (1) What tips do people have for focusing better when doing things like doc review or diligence? It is very hard. (2) Do you bill real time if you're at 65% efficiency?

(1) No idea. Maybe people take adderall. Lemme know if you find out. Music helps sometimes.

(2) i use a timer and I bill all of it. Timer is off if I'm on tls/twitter/texting/chatting with someone in the hall/whatever. I don't write off any time for zoning out/being somewhat distracted/glancing at the TV or whatever in part because I feel like it's < the time lost on random small stuff and just thinking about a case when not at work.

This is all accurate. Billing for a full hour when you spent 20 minutes on ESPN.com is fraud, which is bad, so don't do that. Just use timers and goof off all you want.

What keeps you motivated to not fudge the numbers, is it a sense of loyalty to the clients or fear of getting caught?

Certainly the consequences are drastic enough that I don't want to suffer them, but I also don't want to steal from my clients. It's not a victimless crime. Leaving the timer on while you take a whiz or refill your coffee cup is one thing, but just inflating hours or browsing the internet while the clock ticks away is wholly another.

[Kronk]

Do you guys regularly work past midnight? How many hrs are you billing a year, 2500+?

probably 2200 or 2300. i usually take a break around 8 but stuff pretty regularly comes up late at night and then i'll have to do it from home.

damn. you guys are definitely earning that $200k. touche.

i think i am on pace for like 1750 or so and it feels like a lot of work to me.

i hit 2500 in october. but i had a trial so not exactly a typical year.

jesus dude.

[ze2151]

This brings up 2 q's. (1) What tips do people have for focusing better when doing things like doc review or diligence? It is very hard. (2) Do you bill real time if you're at 65% efficiency?

(1) No idea. Maybe people take adderall. Lemme know if you find out. Music helps sometimes.

(2) i use a timer and I bill all of it. Timer is off if I'm on tls/twitter/texting/chatting with someone in the hall/whatever. I don't write off any time for zoning out/being somewhat distracted/glancing at the TV or whatever in part because I feel like it's < the time lost on random small stuff and just thinking about a case when not at work.

This is all accurate. Billing for a full hour when you spent 20 minutes on ESPN.com is fraud, which is bad, so don't do that. Just use timers and goof off all you want.

What keeps you motivated to not fudge the numbers, is it a sense of loyalty to the clients or fear of getting caught?

The main drivers are the fear of getting caught and your own commitment to being a truthful person. If you're going to fudge your hours, you're probably going to be willing to do other things that might bring you down. What others have said is accurate, it is not likely you'll get busted. But it shouldn't be something you consider. Bad idea.

Also, fudging numbers is just flat-out not good for your life the longer you're in the game. If you waste time you won't keep up with the work flow.

Last thing (relevant to an earlier discussion about leaving early), I commonly work past midnight because I have a kid, so I work in two "shifts" sort of: 9-5, come home, play with tot, put him down, then pick it up for another 3-4 hours in the evening. The people in my group totally get it and know they can rely on me to be available during those times. But it took time to develop credibility with them. Just put on your hustle hat and control what you can control. Find your cheerleaders and advocates and go to the mat for them. In short, navigate the world of work skillfully (admittedly this may be tougher for K-JDs).

[20160810]

I think that having been a public school teacher and hating that job was a good preparation for law practice. I get pretty stressed and frazzled sometimes, but I really don't mind the hours because I generally work about 10-15 hours a week more than I used to for several times as much money and I like the work I do now infinitely more.

[Anonymous User]

What is protocol for halloween? If I go to a practice group meeting dressed as Luigi, will I be looked at like a cray cray?

[Desert Fox]