For Big Law, how many hours do you bill on average? Forum

[paperrev]

3rd yr corporate associate working in Asia at local biglaw. For my own edification, I am wondering what an average big law associate would bill monthly and annually (would be helpful to get a split between billable and non-billable hours as well). Is there a certain point where the number of hours billed seem "a lot"? Sorry if this has been asked before (I tried finding a thread, but none really seemed relevant/up-to-date). Thank you.

[dabigchina]

I'm just a first year, but for me, "a lot" is:

over 80 hours per week or
over 250 per month or
over 2400 per year.

Looking forward to people scoffing at me/calling me soft/telling me they once billed 150 hours in one week.

[LaLiLuLeLo]

I like keeping my weekly billables under 50, no weekend work (maybe answering an email or two) and months around 200. More feels like a lot.

“Holy fuck how did I get through this” is 100+ hour weeks and 300+ hour months.

[ghostoftraynor]

I've billed ~2400 all three years I've worked. Think that is about average for my firm/group/office, but probably on the high end generally. I get the impression most people are more in the 1900-2200 range.

@dabigchina, I'd say more than 220 a month is painful. And, the extra hours there are incrementally much more painful than the hours below that.

[dvlthndr]

My experience is that 1900-2100 is pretty normal for big-law associates. That is the "target" most associates aim to hit. Below that, and you are in trouble. People go above it, but numbers above 2300+ are rare.

On a monthly basis, 200+ is a lot of work. You might see that for a month or two... but I've seen associates start to burn out if the keep it up for too long. I would try to aim for 170-180, but not every practice area has steady work month-to-month.

[paperrev]

Thank you everyone for your responses. Just to clarify, do the above numbers only refer to billable work (or put differently, do you bill additional hours for non-billable work to the 1900-2100 hours)?

[broadstreet11]

Mid-level in D.C. lit. I try to bill between 40-45 a week, which amounts to working around 55 a week. I've only had a few weeks above 60 and have never hit 70+.

[papermateflair]

Senior tax associate - I bill 40-50 hours a week (usually 45ish), 160-190 a month. RARELY over 190, I've never billed anything close to 250, let alone 300. Frankly we don't have enough work for that to be a possibility. Usually around 230-240 total, including non-billable time (if I'm higher on billable work, my non-billable time goes down).

[Anonymous User]

For some practice areas like M&A, the hours difference between a busy week and a chill week is so much that an average doesn't have any relevance. In a typical busy week, I would be billing about 15 hours on average. In a typical chill week, I would be billing about 3 hours on average. In a good week (rare), I would be billing about 7 hours on average.

[whats an updog]

My experience is that 1900-2100 is pretty normal for big-law associates. That is the "target" most associates aim to hit. Below that, and you are in trouble. People go above it, but numbers above 2300+ are rare.

On a monthly basis, 200+ is a lot of work. You might see that for a month or two... but I've seen associates start to burn out if the keep it up for too long. I would try to aim for 170-180, but not every practice area has steady work month-to-month.

This is spot on with my experience. I’m a second year on pace for 250 this month and it isn’t fun. Can’t imagine that there are associates doing this regularly (though obviously there are). Only had two other months in this ballpark since I started. Usually am right around 190-200 with a few slower months a year (+vacation etc.).