First Year Missed Bonus -- Should I Be Polishing Resume? Forum

[Anonymous User]

V10 NYC. First year (full first year -- not stub year). No bonus (not even partial). Low hours. Review emphasized that "all your reviews are excellent, we absolutely see you progressing and advancing in this firm, don't get discouraged by the low hours and next year should be better, but there's no way to make the numbers work to pay you out a bonus this year."

Is that just a talking point they're always going to drop even when they're planning to shitcan you? Should I be getting ready to paper the town here?

[Lincoln]

Why were your hours so low?

[smokeylarue]

Sounds like a very positive review to me. Not everyone makes their hours, particularly easy to miss it during your first year too, wouldn't worry.

[jd20132013]

how far were u from bonus and what is ur practice area

[Anonymous User]

Run of the mill large corporate/transactional groups.

Reason why missed: rotated through three groups throughout the year and the staffing didn't quite line up (i.e., would finish something up 2 weeks before I rotated out so would be left unstaffed, then new group would take 3 weeks or so to staff me post-rotation, so suddenly I have 5 weeks with no work --- multiply it happening three times, then include 4 weeks vacation that I took all the same, and you have an aggregate of nearly 5 months where I was almost entirely unproductive). Everyone in the firm rotated but everyone else also seemed to hit their hours (or near it) so mine were particularly awful.

We're talking like 1350 on the year.

Incidentally this is the first time I really did the math on how many weeks I was unproductive. yowza/ouch.

ETA - thanks for the reassurance, all. Will take it to heart, but hopefully I'm not just being naive.

[jkpolk]

Sounds like a very positive review to me. Not everyone makes their hours, particularly easy to miss it during your first year too, wouldn't worry.

Agree with the above. 1350 hours from a 1st year corporate associate is not unheard of. Sounds like the firm over-hired and you got fucked (depending on your perspective) by deal flow. You may also be under billing (reading e-mail is billable).

[Tls2016]

You worked a full year and they aren’t giving you anything? I’ve honestly never heard of that happening.

[smokeylarue]

You worked a full year and they aren’t giving you anything? I’ve honestly never heard of that happening.

Many (most?) Biglaw firms have a minimum hours target you have to hit to be eligible for a bonus.

[Br3v]

Hard part first: you took 4 weeks vacation as a first year? That's a little excessive. Especially on top of the 5 weeks of slow time. Only real exception I could think is a honey moon then random holidays.

Better part: seems like the review is very positive. They know you will freak out and worry about low hours and no bonus so it seems like their language talking about you progressing, etc is their way of saying they do not plan to let you go anytime soon so chill.

Edit: accidental anon

[Anonymous User]

How do y'all bill reading email?

[LaLiLuLeLo]

How do y'all bill reading email?

Turn on timer. Read email. Turn off timer.

“Review email re: [issue]”.

[bk1]

How do y'all bill reading email?

Turn on timer. Read email. Turn off timer.

“Review email re: [issue]”.

Maybe even class it up with a little "review correspondence re X."

How is this even a question?

[Br3v]

Electronic memorandum

[sublime]

Hard part first: you took 4 weeks vacation as a first year? That's a little excessive. Especially on top of the 5 weeks of slow time. Only real exception I could think is a honey moon then random holidays.

Better part: seems like the review is very positive. They know you will freak out and worry about low hours and no bonus so it seems like their language talking about you progressing, etc is their way of saying they do not plan to let you go anytime soon so chill.

Edit: accidental anon

Fuck that though. Obviously try not to take vacation during busy times and don’t fuck your hours to do it but use the vacation they give you if you can.

[Br3v]

Hard part first: you took 4 weeks vacation as a first year? That's a little excessive. Especially on top of the 5 weeks of slow time. Only real exception I could think is a honey moon then random holidays.

Better part: seems like the review is very positive. They know you will freak out and worry about low hours and no bonus so it seems like their language talking about you progressing, etc is their way of saying they do not plan to let you go anytime soon so chill.

Edit: accidental anon

Fuck that though. Obviously try not to take vacation during busy times and don’t fuck your hours to do it but use the vacation they give you if you can.

Idk, 4 weeks as a first year? Just seems like a lot. No judgement from me if you can swing it though.

[sublime]

Hard part first: you took 4 weeks vacation as a first year? That's a little excessive. Especially on top of the 5 weeks of slow time. Only real exception I could think is a honey moon then random holidays.

Better part: seems like the review is very positive. They know you will freak out and worry about low hours and no bonus so it seems like their language talking about you progressing, etc is their way of saying they do not plan to let you go anytime soon so chill.

Edit: accidental anon

Fuck that though. Obviously try not to take vacation during busy times and don’t fuck your hours to do it but use the vacation they give you if you can.

Idk, 4 weeks as a first year? Just seems like a lot. No judgement from me if you can swing it though.

Yea, I took less than a third of that but others my class year used it all. Obviously varies by firm, but I don’t really think it’s unreasonable to use the vacation time you have been given.

[Hutz_and_Goodman]

I wouldn’t worry. There are people in my class (3rd year) who have significantly missed hours every year and are highly regarded. A firm is not going to fire someone good who missed hours (and didn’t turn down work) unless it’s an extreme situation like 2008.

[jd20132013]

How do y'all bill reading email?

Turn on timer. Read email. Turn off timer.

“Review email re: [issue]”.

I was thinking more on the lines of the bs that clutters your inbox that's for a case but lacks a through line...:@ there isn't one single issue. Obviously if there's a single issue you bill the issue.

[Br3v]

How do y'all bill reading email?

Turn on timer. Read email. Turn off timer.

“Review email re: [issue]”.

I was thinking more on the lines of the bs that clutters your inbox that's for a case but lacks a through line...:@ there isn't one single issue. Obviously if there's a single issue you bill the issue.

Use your best judgement and apply that time to the appropriate issue. Certainly you have been emailed for some reason.

[Mullens]

Hard part first: you took 4 weeks vacation as a first year? That's a little excessive. Especially on top of the 5 weeks of slow time. Only real exception I could think is a honey moon then random holidays.

Better part: seems like the review is very positive. They know you will freak out and worry about low hours and no bonus so it seems like their language talking about you progressing, etc is their way of saying they do not plan to let you go anytime soon so chill.

Edit: accidental anon

Fuck that though. Obviously try not to take vacation during busy times and don’t fuck your hours to do it but use the vacation they give you if you can.

Idk, 4 weeks as a first year? Just seems like a lot. No judgement from me if you can swing it though.

Aren’t there some NY V10 firms that pretty much make you take it?

[Br3v]

Hard part first: you took 4 weeks vacation as a first year? That's a little excessive. Especially on top of the 5 weeks of slow time. Only real exception I could think is a honey moon then random holidays.

Better part: seems like the review is very positive. They know you will freak out and worry about low hours and no bonus so it seems like their language talking about you progressing, etc is their way of saying they do not plan to let you go anytime soon so chill.

Edit: accidental anon

Fuck that though. Obviously try not to take vacation during busy times and don’t fuck your hours to do it but use the vacation they give you if you can.

Idk, 4 weeks as a first year? Just seems like a lot. No judgement from me if you can swing it though.

Aren’t there some NY V10 firms that pretty much make you take it?

I don't know of any that make you take 4 (I've heard of 2) but I think that was Sublime's point about "varies by firm," which I agree with.

[Desert Fox]

I wouldn’t worry. There are people in my class (3rd year) who have significantly missed hours every year and are highly regarded. A firm is not going to fire someone good who missed hours (and didn’t turn down work) unless it’s an extreme situation like 2008.

1350 is probably barely profitable. I know people who 1800’d their way to senior associate, but if OP doesn’t at least get close to 2000 they’ll likely let him go.

[SportsFan]

On the other hand, could be that OP is underbilling and so not many of his hours have been written off compared to others who may have billed more (or, rather, attempted to). In which case things aren't so bad anyway.

[bk1]

I wouldn’t worry. There are people in my class (3rd year) who have significantly missed hours every year and are highly regarded. A firm is not going to fire someone good who missed hours (and didn’t turn down work) unless it’s an extreme situation like 2008.

1350 is probably barely profitable. I know people who 1800’d their way to senior associate, but if OP doesn’t at least get close to 2000 they’ll likely let him go.

This. I don't doubt that at some places you'd be fine. But there are definitely places where you wouldn't be fine.

[Anonymous User]

Related question: 3L, and going into a field that has a lot of slow times (for juniors especially.) In a similar situation, is the solution pro bono? CLE? If you're not getting work what can you do to look "productive" and keep this kind of thing from happening?

EDIT: assuming that the problem isn't a total lack of work or shitty work product, but instead deal flow/other structural issues with getting you work