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Hours?
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2021 11:36 pm
by Anonymous User
How many hours / what percentile rank should a first associate/ junior be billing to be considered a star associate without burning out? Billing “as much as possible” for many years doesn’t feel sustainable.
Re: Hours?
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2021 1:01 am
by mardash
Idk man, a std deviation from the median?
Re: Hours?
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2021 9:02 am
by Anonymous User
At the v10 where I work, it would be 2800+ with some practice group specific differences. Certain specialist groups can be lower.
Re: Hours?
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2021 9:14 am
by hdr
Star associates do good work. If the partners are happy with your work and they can count on you to get things done, they're not going to care if you bill only 2000 hours.
Re: Hours?
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2021 5:29 pm
by mardash
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 9:02 am
At the v10 where I work, it would be 2800+ with some practice group specific differences. Certain specialist groups can be lower.
Yikes. Hope they don’t mind burnt out stars.
Re: Hours?
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2021 8:45 pm
by Anonymous User
hdr wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 9:14 am
Star associates do good work. If the partners are happy with your work and they can count on you to get things done, they're not going to care if you bill only 2000 hours.
Pretty much this. Quality > quantity after some reasonable threshold hours
Re: Hours?
Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2021 12:09 pm
by almostperfectt
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 8:45 pm
hdr wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 9:14 am
Star associates do good work. If the partners are happy with your work and they can count on you to get things done, they're not going to care if you bill only 2000 hours.
Pretty much this. Quality > quantity after some reasonable threshold hours
It also depends on how busy (and short-staffed) your group is. If you're turning down work so someone less skilled than you can pull all nighters, you're not going to seem like a team player and partners won't like you.
On the other hand, if you are hoarding work because you think it makes you look good... you're probably right but it's not necessary if you're good at the job. If everyone has equal hours and you're more talented then you'll shine.
Re: Hours?
Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2021 1:11 pm
by Buglaw
mardash wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 5:29 pm
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 9:02 am
At the v10 where I work, it would be 2800+ with some practice group specific differences. Certain specialist groups can be lower.
Yikes. Hope they don’t mind burnt out stars.
This seems unlikely to me. Probably 20% of associates are "stars". Hard to imagine 20% of associates are billing 2800. That seems nuts (even in this market). If they were, revenue per lawyer at these top firms would be even higher. Basic math suggests they be well into the 2mm category if a huge chunk of associates were billing north of 2400 or 2600, etc. Average rates at these firms for associates are probably about $1k.