Seamless Budgets Forum

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone intentionally work to the order time close to everyday just for the free dinner?

[Anonymous User]

Just bill your meals to your largest matter and nobody will care. You could probably order dinner at 1pm.

On 500k bills nobody is spending any time looking at the extra few hundred charged for meals.

[Anonymous User]

Any intel on White & Case?

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone intentionally work to the order time close to everyday just for the free dinner?

I would start later / stay later but not necessarily bill more in part for the food

[Anonymous User]

Any intel on White & Case?

The remote/WFH meal expense (charged to firm) is limited to $35. Meals billed to client is partner/group dependent.

[Anonymous User]

FWIW Deb just announced a new Seamless policy, which is...less than ideal. Need to be at the office or client site until 9:00 pm, you can start ordering at 8:00 pm. Max $35 inclusive of tax and gratuity. Any excess to be charged to lawyer's personal credit card.

[Anonymous User]

How about Simpson?

STB is $35

What time?

[Anonymous User]

FWIW Deb just announced a new Seamless policy, which is...less than ideal. Need to be at the office or client site until 9:00 pm, you can start ordering at 8:00 pm. Max $35 inclusive of tax and gratuity. Any excess to be charged to lawyer's personal credit card.

This is…dumb

[Anonymous User]

FWIW Deb just announced a new Seamless policy, which is...less than ideal. Need to be at the office or client site until 9:00 pm, you can start ordering at 8:00 pm. Max $35 inclusive of tax and gratuity. Any excess to be charged to lawyer's personal credit card.

This is…dumb

Do most firms not allow you to order until a certain time? This just sounds unhealthy. I don't like to eat after 8pm for health reasons, and if you aren't allowed to order until 8 then that means you realistically won't be eating until 8:30 at the earliest. I think timing is the more important factor for these budgets (as long as the budget is >$30).

[Elston Gunn]

FWIW Deb just announced a new Seamless policy, which is...less than ideal. Need to be at the office or client site until 9:00 pm, you can start ordering at 8:00 pm. Max $35 inclusive of tax and gratuity. Any excess to be charged to lawyer's personal credit card.

Lol that is embarrassing

[cfcm]

FWIW Deb just announced a new Seamless policy, which is...less than ideal. Need to be at the office or client site until 9:00 pm, you can start ordering at 8:00 pm. Max $35 inclusive of tax and gratuity. Any excess to be charged to lawyer's personal credit card.

What was the old policy?

[Anonymous User]

Deb associate. Old policy wasn't written down anywhere, it was essentially the honor system. Budget was still $35, but it wasn't policed if you went over. Could start ordering whenever you had a sense that you'd be in the office past 8 or 9.

I tend to eat dinner around 6 or 7 and I work late most days. So this will be pretty disruptive to me. Thanks Deb!

[Anonymous User]

How about Simpson?

STB is $35

Is that a hard limit?

[Anonymous User]

How about Simpson?

STB is $35

Is that a hard limit?

+1 and for details on timing

[Joachim2017]

FWIW Deb just announced a new Seamless policy, which is...less than ideal. Need to be at the office or client site until 9:00 pm, you can start ordering at 8:00 pm. Max $35 inclusive of tax and gratuity. Any excess to be charged to lawyer's personal credit card.

Lol that is embarrassing

Embarrassing and shameful.

[Res Ipsa Loquitter]

Budgets should be higher for corporate. We need to stop letting shitigators suck us dry.

[Anonymous User]

Unless something has changed since I left, DPW folks expense $35 on a regular basis without any issues.

[gontid]

Budgets should be higher for corporate. We need to stop letting shitigators suck us dry.

Are you suggesting that we do the reverse when the recession hits?

[jotarokujo]

Budgets should be higher for corporate. We need to stop letting shitigators suck us dry.

Are you suggesting that we do the reverse when the recession hits?

probably doens't realize there are times when litigation is booming and corporate is contracting

[Joachim2017]

Budgets should be higher for corporate. We need to stop letting shitigators suck us dry.

Are you suggesting that we do the reverse when the recession hits?

probably doens't realize there are times when litigation is booming and corporate is contracting

OP quoted above is a stub year/1st year -- and it shows. (And even if s/he had something somewhere in the realm of a respectable take, damn I would not want to work with folks like this.)

[Res Ipsa Loquitter]

Budgets should be higher for corporate. We need to stop letting shitigators suck us dry.

Are you suggesting that we do the reverse when the recession hits?

probably doens't realize there are times when litigation is booming and corporate is contracting

OP quoted above is a stub year/1st year -- and it shows. (And even if s/he had something somewhere in the realm of a respectable take, damn I would not want to work with folks like this.)

I thought my use of the term "shitigator" made it clear I was joking. I agree that it makes no sense for firms to give different meal allowances based on practice group.

[Anonymous User]

FWIW Deb just announced a new Seamless policy, which is...less than ideal. Need to be at the office or client site until 9:00 pm, you can start ordering at 8:00 pm. Max $35 inclusive of tax and gratuity. Any excess to be charged to lawyer's personal credit card.

Really weird policy to come up with in 2021, I feel like firms have been moving away from fixed location/timing to a pure what did you bill model, which makes way more sense all things considered.

For example, Dechert is now bill 9.5 hours, $40 budget, doesn't matter if you are in the office or started billing at 6am and are done by 6pm. (As opposed to have to be in the office until 8pm, which was previous policy.)

[Anonymous User]

FWIW Deb just announced a new Seamless policy, which is...less than ideal. Need to be at the office or client site until 9:00 pm, you can start ordering at 8:00 pm. Max $35 inclusive of tax and gratuity. Any excess to be charged to lawyer's personal credit card.

Really weird policy to come up with in 2021, I feel like firms have been moving away from fixed location/timing to a pure what did you bill model, which makes way more sense all things considered.

For example, Dechert is now bill 9.5 hours, $40 budget, doesn't matter if you are in the office or started billing at 6am and are done by 6pm. (As opposed to have to be in the office until 8pm, which was previous policy.)

This is probably better overall, but it also potentially screws over the associate who has nothing to do until 4/5pm and then all of a sudden gets an assignment that keeps them in the office until 10/11. Would that person get dinner at Dechert?

Agreed that the Deb policy seems ridiculous. For rising 2Ls on the margins of what firm to choose, seemingly little things like this actually have a real impact on your firm experience.

[jotarokujo]

Agreed that the Deb policy seems ridiculous. For rising 2Ls on the margins of what firm to choose, seemingly little things like this actually have a real impact on your firm experience.

these seems down there with "i liked the 4 people out of 500 that i met" in terms of reasons to choose a firm. all other things equal, sure choose based on this. but all other things are not going to be equal

[Joachim2017]

Agreed that the Deb policy seems ridiculous. For rising 2Ls on the margins of what firm to choose, seemingly little things like this actually have a real impact on your firm experience.

these seems down there with "i liked the 4 people out of 500 that i met" in terms of reasons to choose a firm. all other things equal, sure choose based on this. but all other things are not going to be equal

These two things are not at all comparable. The Debevoise policy on meals is stingy, narrow-minded, short-sighted, and has a terrible material effect on associates every day. It's not at all a bad reason to choose not to work there especially given how similar comparable firms are. The analogy to second-round interviews does not work.