Slow Times Forum

[jarofsoup]

December has been slow and it freaks me out a bit. I have no idea what the work load of other associates looks like. I am in a satellite office. I assume they are a bit more busy because they are at HQ.

Does anyone else freak out when slow. I don’t think that I am being frozen out but always paranoid.

Edit: I posted under the wrong topic heading apologies.

[QContinuum]

Enjoy the slow times while they last! Next week is Christmas. Being slow rn is a blessing, not a curse. The last thing you want is a "free" fire drill and extra billables on 12/25 (or 12/24, 12/31 or 1/1, for that matter).

Things will pick back up naturally in the first/second week of January.

[The Lsat Airbender]

Agree, this is only a problem if you're about to miss a 2019 cutoff by like 20 hours or something

January will probably kick your ass

[QContinuum]

Agree, this is only a problem if you're about to miss a 2019 cutoff by like 20 hours or something

January will probably kick your ass

Good point about hitting a bonus minimum... if very close, then absolutely try to scrounge for work to hit those last 20/30/whatever hours! But, otherwise, don't stress.

[Wild Card]

If you're in good standing, being slow is no problem.

However, if you managed to rub at least one psychopath partner the wrong way, it will provide your firm pretext to fire you.

[jarofsoup]

I have 5 or so hours of work a day so not completely dry. I assume I am in good standing. Who the hell really knows though.

[Anonymous User]

i'm a first year who started in September. It's been such a slow start... should I be worried? Does it look bad if I'm leaving the office around 5:30/6pm. Most day's I'm just sitting in my office with no work.

[QContinuum]

I have 5 or so hours of work a day so not completely dry. I assume I am in good standing. Who the hell really knows though.

It's the week before Christmas! If you're logging ~5 billables per day, that's perfect. I wouldn't even worry if you had 0 billables per day this/next week; it's holiday season and no one will ding you for that (well, unless you don't have work AND are actively turning away work).

i'm a first year who started in September. It's been such a slow start... should I be worried? Does it look bad if I'm leaving the office around 5:30/6pm. Most day's I'm just sitting in my office with no work.

What do the other stub years' workloads look like? If everyone else is swamped and you're twiddling your fingers, then yes, there may be cause for concern. But if - as is more likely - a significant portion of the stub-years are slow, I'd just chalk it up to the time of year. Deals are either going full-tilt trying to sign before 2020 or completely dead because clients (and lawyers) generally aren't interested in doing "discretionary" work during the hols.

[JusticeChuckleNutz]

i'm a first year who started in September. It's been such a slow start... should I be worried? Does it look bad if I'm leaving the office around 5:30/6pm. Most day's I'm just sitting in my office with no work.

In my stub year as well, and also pretty slow throughout December. Definitely have had busy times since September but significantly less overall in December. Seems to just be the way it goes as the holidays approach. I have just been checking in occasionally with the partners/Senior associates and seeing if they have projects/letting them know I have availability. I think it is good advice by QContinuum to look at what other stub's workloads are like, especially if there is another stub in your particular practice group.

[Bendecki]

i'm a first year who started in September. It's been such a slow start... should I be worried? Does it look bad if I'm leaving the office around 5:30/6pm. Most day's I'm just sitting in my office with no work.

Yes, that sounds like a major problem, especially if you are not hitting your hours requirement.

what is the rest of the office doing? are you the only one that is slow? are you reaching out to partners to get work? I would recommend doing everything in your power to get any additional work you can. If you are way below your billable hours budget, you are a prime target to be let go.

Sometimes firms have a couple of slow weeks, but a few months of having no work is a major red flag to start looking somewhere else. A firm can't pay you if they don't make money because they don't have enough work.

[cavalier1138]

i'm a first year who started in September. It's been such a slow start... should I be worried? Does it look bad if I'm leaving the office around 5:30/6pm. Most day's I'm just sitting in my office with no work.

Yes, that sounds like a major problem, especially if you are not hitting your hours requirement.

what is the rest of the office doing? are you the only one that is slow? are you reaching out to partners to get work? I would recommend doing everything in your power to get any additional work you can. If you are way below your billable hours budget, you are a prime target to be let go.

Sometimes firms have a couple of slow weeks, but a few months of having no work is a major red flag to start looking somewhere else. A firm can't pay you if they don't make money because they don't have enough work.

I agree that OP should be proactive, but this is a huge overreaction. Many (most?) firms don't even count stub year hours.

[trebekismyhero]

i'm a first year who started in September. It's been such a slow start... should I be worried? Does it look bad if I'm leaving the office around 5:30/6pm. Most day's I'm just sitting in my office with no work.

Yes, that sounds like a major problem, especially if you are not hitting your hours requirement.

what is the rest of the office doing? are you the only one that is slow? are you reaching out to partners to get work? I would recommend doing everything in your power to get any additional work you can. If you are way below your billable hours budget, you are a prime target to be let go.

Sometimes firms have a couple of slow weeks, but a few months of having no work is a major red flag to start looking somewhere else. A firm can't pay you if they don't make money because they don't have enough work.

I agree that OP should be proactive, but this is a huge overreaction. Many (most?) firms don't even count stub year hours.

Agreed. I was busy as a stub year, but a lot of my class billed less than 100 hours the entire time and no one cared. Keep trying to get work, but I wouldn't worry about it unless it was still this slow in March

[dabigchina]

If you're in good standing, being slow is no problem.

However, if you managed to rub at least one psychopath partner the wrong way, it will provide your firm pretext to fire you.

these types of posts are completely pointless.

"being slow is not a problem. unless it is, in which case you are completely fucked."

to the OP - stub years are supposed are supposed to be slow. enjoy it. to the extent you have work, take your time and try to learn as much as you can from it.

[OneTwoThreeFour]

If you're in good standing, being slow is no problem.

However, if you managed to rub at least one psychopath partner the wrong way, it will provide your firm pretext to fire you.

these types of posts are completely pointless.

"being slow is not a problem. unless it is, in which case you are completely fucked."

to the OP - stub years are supposed are supposed to be slow. enjoy it. to the extent you have work, take your time and try to learn as much as you can from it.

100% Agree. OP, you need to learn to enjoy the slow times. Go workout, catch up on errands/sleep, and otherwise enjoy life. Work will come soon enough.

[Wild Card]

If you're in good standing, being slow is no problem.

However, if you managed to rub at least one psychopath partner the wrong way, it will provide your firm pretext to fire you.

these types of posts are completely pointless.

"being slow is not a problem. unless it is, in which case you are completely fucked."

to the OP - stub years are supposed are supposed to be slow. enjoy it. to the extent you have work, take your time and try to learn as much as you can from it.

My post isn't pointless because firms have started laying off first years. OP did not mention that he is a stub year. That makes all the difference. Stub years do not need to worry. First years do have cause for concern if they are well below formal or informal hours cutoffs (i.e., for bonus eligibility) set by their firms.

[Wubbles]

The real takeaway? It sounds terrible to be afraid to leave work at 6pm even when you don't have work to do. RIP me in 10 months

[OneTwoThreeFour]

The real takeaway? It sounds terrible to be afraid to leave work at 6pm even when you don't have work to do. RIP me in 10 months

It's only this way if you let it be. Don't be afraid to come and go as you want, and don't be afraid to chill when it's slow. PRO TIP: No one cares.

[Anonymous User]

The real takeaway? It sounds terrible to be afraid to leave work at 6pm even when you don't have work to do. RIP me in 10 months

The best tip I can give - As long as you work hard and your work products are good, don't worry about getting fired. As someone that went through the toughest and most unfair times at a V50, I know for sure that not caring will help you mentally so much. Always remember that there are other things you can do with your life.

[Anonymous User]

December has been slow and it freaks me out a bit. I have no idea what the work load of other associates looks like. I am in a satellite office. I assume they are a bit more busy because they are at HQ.

Does anyone else freak out when slow. I don’t think that I am being frozen out but always paranoid.

Edit: I posted under the wrong topic heading apologies.

I had a few 8 to 10 hour days after postings.

I am coming off a large matter that was insane for the last year and so the firm is in a bit of a lull.

[RaceJudicata]

i'm a first year who started in September. It's been such a slow start... should I be worried? Does it look bad if I'm leaving the office around 5:30/6pm. Most day's I'm just sitting in my office with no work.

Yes, that sounds like a major problem, especially if you are not hitting your hours requirement.

what is the rest of the office doing? are you the only one that is slow? are you reaching out to partners to get work? I would recommend doing everything in your power to get any additional work you can. If you are way below your billable hours budget, you are a prime target to be let go.

Sometimes firms have a couple of slow weeks, but a few months of having no work is a major red flag to start looking somewhere else. A firm can't pay you if they don't make money because they don't have enough work.

Pump the brakes. Sure, good to pay attention to what others are doing and weigh whether you are the only one with no work. But the categorical statement that this “sounds like a major problem” is just not true. Odds are that this first year will be wishing for less work in 6-9 months. No need to scare him or her 3 months in.

[Tyler_Durden]

In contrast to what others have said, I have witnessed, in multiple instances, associates laid off during slow times. Firms won't continue to prop you up if you are not consistently billing hours. You need to go out and find work to bill, as if your job depends on it, because it does.

[cavalier1138]

In contrast to what others have said, I have witnessed, in multiple instances, associates laid off during slow times.

In the stub year?

[QContinuum]

In contrast to what others have said, I have witnessed, in multiple instances, associates laid off during slow times.

In the stub year?

Excepting what happened at some firms in '08, I've never heard of stub years getting let go for low hours. Even first years are generally pretty safe, as long as you don't bill ridiculously low hours.

[Anonymous User]

I think this is practice group dependent. December/January is always slow for me. I think I’ve billed more than 100 hours once in December/January in the past few years. Then February usually ends up being a 200+ hour month without fail.

[Wild Card]

In contrast to what others have said, I have witnessed, in multiple instances, associates laid off during slow times. Firms won't continue to prop you up if you are not consistently billing hours. You need to go out and find work to bill, as if your job depends on it, because it does.

This is true even if your group has a dedicated staffing partner whose job it's supposed to be to give you work.

But, then again, during slow times, even if you do scrounge up enough work to bill 20 to 30 hours a week instead of 10 to 20, your firm will find excuses to fire you if it really wants to, and your efforts will have meant nothing.

I think the "relax, the work will come" advice is fine for STUB years, but depending on one's practice group, there may be no mercy after a certain point in time.

It really, really depends on one's practice group. Not firm, but practice group.