Runway to being pushed out Forum

[Anonymous User]

How long can someone greatly reduce their hours at a v10 before being pushed out as a 2/3/4th year. Plan to be quiet and firm about pushing back. Plan to average 166.66, pushing back far more on night and weekend work.

Work at a sweatshop where 200-300 is normal. Attrition is off the charts.

Thanks.

[ChickenSalad]

Are you at Kirkland?

I’ve never heard of anyone getting fired for billing 2,000 hours. That should be sustainable for at least several years as long as your work and reviews are good

[Anonymous User]

Are you at Kirkland?

I’ve never heard of anyone getting fired for billing 2,000 hours. That should be sustainable for at least several years as long as your work and reviews are good

Yes. Reviews aren’t that intense here, should be fine … ready to Lateral if needed

[LittleRedCorvette]

Are you at Kirkland?

I’ve never heard of anyone getting fired for billing 2,000 hours. That should be sustainable for at least several years as long as your work and reviews are good

Why would 2000/year not be sustainable all the way to the partner call?

[marmot8]

Are you at Kirkland?

I’ve never heard of anyone getting fired for billing 2,000 hours. That should be sustainable for at least several years as long as your work and reviews are good

Why would 2000/year not be sustainable all the way to the partner call?

Because it’s not at a firm in a busy practice group where it means you’re blatantly saying no to work when you have capacity and others genuinely do not.

[Anonymous User]

Are you at Kirkland?

I’ve never heard of anyone getting fired for billing 2,000 hours. That should be sustainable for at least several years as long as your work and reviews are good

Why would 2000/year not be sustainable all the way to the partner call?

Because it’s not at a firm in a busy practice group where it means you’re blatantly saying no to work when you have capacity and others genuinely do not.

This is exactly it. Helping the team out when boatloads of folks exit creates the issue. People will ask you what’s on your plate as well, always couched with not trying to be invasive but happens

[Anonymous User]

There's no V10 in the world that wouldn't take someone doing good work and consistently billing 2,000 hour years (talking real 2,000 billable, not 1,500 billable plus 500 on the immigration case you're super passionate about). You might not make equity partner (you might too), but they'd keep you around for a long, long time (maybe forever if your work is good enough and you're well liked enough). The problem is figuring out how to "only" hit around 2,000 hours without being a dick, pissing people off, being seen as not being a team player, etc. The number in theory is fine, it's getting there year after year that's the struggle.

[Anonymous User]

If that's the goal I wouldn't have started at a V10, I think it's harder there than at other firms. I've done this at a V50 and I'm going strong, 2.5 years in, without much blowback (got one comment I should be more proactive, but this was in the midst of praise, so no alarms going off yet).

[Anonymous User]

If that's the goal I wouldn't have started at a V10, I think it's harder there than at other firms. I've done this at a V50 and I'm going strong, 2.5 years in, without much blowback (got one comment I should be more proactive, but this was in the midst of praise, so no alarms going off yet).

Fair point

[Anonymous User]

I’m a former Kirkland midlevel who recently lateraled after coasting harder than even you say you want to. I wasn’t pushed out, but I left after a warning from a trusted partner that suggested to me “The Talk” would have come my way in 1-2 months absent me changing my behavior, which I had no intention of doing.

From late summer to early 2022, I billed over 150 once and I billed under 100 twice. At Kirkland, I think it’s a crapshoot of how long you can pull this off. I said no to a lot of work, and offered reasons of varying validity when doing so. Some partners took me at face value and that was that. A couple really pushed me for details and asked other partners about how many hours they needed from me. Those were the really uncomfortable situations that were super tough to navigate. It’s hard to have 120 hours of work on your plate for a given month and know that your colleagues are underwater and still say no to a partner who is going to turn to them next.

[Anonymous User]

I’m a former Kirkland midlevel who recently lateraled after coasting harder than even you say you want to. I wasn’t pushed out, but I left after a warning from a trusted partner that suggested to me “The Talk” would have come my way in 1-2 months absent me changing my behavior, which I had no intention of doing.

From late summer to early 2022, I billed over 150 once and I billed under 100 twice. At Kirkland, I think it’s a crapshoot of how long you can pull this off. I said no to a lot of work, and offered reasons of varying validity when doing so. Some partners took me at face value and that was that. A couple really pushed me for details and asked other partners about how many hours they needed from me. Those were the really uncomfortable situations that were super tough to navigate. It’s hard to have 120 hours of work on your plate for a given month and know that your colleagues are underwater and still say no to a partner who is going to turn to them next.

Thanks for sharing. Dark side of the free market. Without any details, any tips for navigating the tougher partners?

[Anonymous User]

I’m a former Kirkland midlevel who recently lateraled after coasting harder than even you say you want to. I wasn’t pushed out, but I left after a warning from a trusted partner that suggested to me “The Talk” would have come my way in 1-2 months absent me changing my behavior, which I had no intention of doing.

From late summer to early 2022, I billed over 150 once and I billed under 100 twice. At Kirkland, I think it’s a crapshoot of how long you can pull this off. I said no to a lot of work, and offered reasons of varying validity when doing so. Some partners took me at face value and that was that. A couple really pushed me for details and asked other partners about how many hours they needed from me. Those were the really uncomfortable situations that were super tough to navigate. It’s hard to have 120 hours of work on your plate for a given month and know that your colleagues are underwater and still say no to a partner who is going to turn to them next.

Thanks for sharing. Dark side of the free market. Without any details, any tips for navigating the tougher partners?

The usual tips (that I've gotten, at least) are pretty good: Screen your calls when they ring and you aren't already working with them, never say yes to them during the first conversation, and then circle up with the people you work with/actually want to work with and try to get them to vouch for your time. If you aren't busy though, this gets uncomfortable fast. The main trick I have found is to channel your inner Nancy Reagan and just say no. Don't give an inch, don't agree to pinch hit on one task or join the team for limited role X. Once the bad partners have their claws in you, they rope you all the way in. Mileage may vary on the transactional side; I'm a litigator.

I also often told people that I was expecting XYZ Case to heat up in the near future and so I anticipated having no capacity. That trick worked multiple times even though I was not busy when I got pitched, and even though XYZ Case did not heat up (I had a plausible reason for saying that it would each time, even though I expected it probably was not going to).

[Anonymous User]

Are you saying that some folks can get the talk outside of the mid year review or annual review process at KE?.

[Anonymous User]

Just a fact right now that KE is hurting for bodies. If you’re working anywhere near 2k, you’re definitely not getting a talking to. 5-6 years from (or whenever I’m not a psychic) now when things are very lean then yeah maybe.