How to respond to “billables” interview questions Forum

[Anonymous User]

Say that you are looking to lateral from Firm A to Firm B, and the latter asks during the interview the following:

What were your billable hour requirements at Firm A? Did you meet them, and if not, by how much did you miss it and why not? How much of your billables were dedicated to billing Project 1 assignments versus Project 2 assignments, i.e. a break down of your billables. What is your billing rate?

Have you been asked any of these, or some version thereof? How do you reply to each of these? Is there an expectation to be completely upfront for all, or can you reasonably push back on some of these due to, e.g. firm confidentiality.

[Anonymous User]

I lateraled in December 2021 as a mid-level. I interviewed at Kirkland and Latham for M&A in NY. I was never asked any questions about my billable hours. I would be surprised if I was asked those questions quite frankly. The questions I got were very typical "why do you want to move? Tell us about what deals you have worked on". Very natural conversations to see whether I had the requisite experience for the role.

[Anonymous User]

That strikes me as a red flag for Firm B.

[Anonymous User]

Say that you are looking to lateral from Firm A to Firm B, and the latter asks during the interview the following:

What were your billable hour requirements at Firm A? Did you meet them, and if not, by how much did you miss it and why not? How much of your billables were dedicated to billing Project 1 assignments versus Project 2 assignments, i.e. a break down of your billables. What is your billing rate?

Have you been asked any of these, or some version thereof? How do you reply to each of these? Is there an expectation to be completely upfront for all, or can you reasonably push back on some of these due to, e.g. firm confidentiality.

If a partner asked the question about the breakdown, I might wonder whether it was a test to see if I understood my ethical duties of confidentiality. So be mindful of that. If it was not a test, it's a pretty obnoxious question (which it is either way, really).

[Anonymous User]

Say that you are looking to lateral from Firm A to Firm B, and the latter asks during the interview the following:

What were your billable hour requirements at Firm A? Did you meet them, and if not, by how much did you miss it and why not? How much of your billables were dedicated to billing Project 1 assignments versus Project 2 assignments, i.e. a break down of your billables. What is your billing rate?

Have you been asked any of these, or some version thereof? How do you reply to each of these? Is there an expectation to be completely upfront for all, or can you reasonably push back on some of these due to, e.g. firm confidentiality.

If a partner asked the question about the breakdown, I might wonder whether it was a test to see if I understood my ethical duties of confidentiality. So be mindful of that. If it was not a test, it's a pretty obnoxious question (which it is either way, really).

This is what I was thinking too. Your rate is probably confidential too.

I know some midlaw lit firms (and some boutiques) try to put the pressure on during your interview to see how you handle it. Could that be what's going on? I'd have answered "I'm not sure that I'm at liberty to share those details, but what I can say is I've been in good standing with the firm and [insert some platitude about your work ethic]."

[Anonymous User]

The OP sounds more like someone worried that their billables will sink them and trying to get out from under the question, than someone who’s actually been asked about billables.

[Anonymous User]

The OP sounds more like someone worried that their billables will sink them and trying to get out from under the question, than someone who’s actually been asked about billables.

Nah the questions are too specific to be made up. And even if so, who cares? If they were doing good work and the group was slow why should they be stuck at that firm?

[Anonymous User]

Say that you are looking to lateral from Firm A to Firm B, and the latter asks during the interview the following:

What were your billable hour requirements at Firm A? Did you meet them, and if not, by how much did you miss it and why not? How much of your billables were dedicated to billing Project 1 assignments versus Project 2 assignments, i.e. a break down of your billables. What is your billing rate?

Have you been asked any of these, or some version thereof? How do you reply to each of these? Is there an expectation to be completely upfront for all, or can you reasonably push back on some of these due to, e.g. firm confidentiality.

It is not uncommon to get some version of "how much did you bill last year" during lateral interviews. I never received requests for more specific information like a per-client breakdown or my rate, both of which I think I would politely refuse to answer.

The sense I got was that this line of questioning is essentially trying to find out 1) did you get pushed out and/or 2) are you a hard worker. There is also an element of 3) hours are really important and we want people who know and keep track of their workload very well. The implication being that, if you hours were in the gutter, you either couldn't hack it or are prone to coasting. Of course, that's not always a fair assumption for the interviewer to be making, but it's one that people do make in law firms all the time.

While there is little to no chance the interviewing firm can verify your answer, I would not recommend lying, nor do I think anyone else would recommend that route. If your hours were good, I would just go ahead and share the total number. If they were not good, I think there are two options. One is a kind of non-answer where you avoid the question while truthfully providing some information, if not the actual total ("Some months they were really high and above 200, some months lower, it was up and down and not consistent") or something like that. The other option is to just be completely upfront about it and try to weave it into a bigger narrative ("I billed 1500 hours last year due to X Y and Z, which are also reasons why I am looking to lateral, so I can focus on a firm with lots of work in A B and C areas"). What the right path is depends on the interviewers, what your hours actually were, etc., and there isn't going to be a one size fits all solution here. If your hours were bad, it is just a tough question to run across.

[Anonymous User]

Say that you are looking to lateral from Firm A to Firm B, and the latter asks during the interview the following:

What were your billable hour requirements at Firm A? Did you meet them, and if not, by how much did you miss it and why not? How much of your billables were dedicated to billing Project 1 assignments versus Project 2 assignments, i.e. a break down of your billables. What is your billing rate?

Have you been asked any of these, or some version thereof? How do you reply to each of these? Is there an expectation to be completely upfront for all, or can you reasonably push back on some of these due to, e.g. firm confidentiality.

It is not uncommon to get some version of "how much did you bill last year" during lateral interviews. I never received requests for more specific information like a per-client breakdown or my rate, both of which I think I would politely refuse to answer.

The sense I got was that this line of questioning is essentially trying to find out 1) did you get pushed out and/or 2) are you a hard worker. There is also an element of 3) hours are really important and we want people who know and keep track of their workload very well. The implication being that, if you hours were in the gutter, you either couldn't hack it or are prone to coasting. Of course, that's not always a fair assumption for the interviewer to be making, but it's one that people do make in law firms all the time.

While there is little to no chance the interviewing firm can verify your answer, I would not recommend lying, nor do I think anyone else would recommend that route. If your hours were good, I would just go ahead and share the total number. If they were not good, I think there are two options. One is a kind of non-answer where you avoid the question while truthfully providing some information, if not the actual total ("Some months they were really high and above 200, some months lower, it was up and down and not consistent") or something like that. The other option is to just be completely upfront about it and try to weave it into a bigger narrative ("I billed 1500 hours last year due to X Y and Z, which are also reasons why I am looking to lateral, so I can focus on a firm with lots of work in A B and C areas"). What the right path is depends on the interviewers, what your hours actually were, etc., and there isn't going to be a one size fits all solution here. If your hours were bad, it is just a tough question to run across.

I would just say I billed around 2000 hours if asked? Why over think it; it's none of their business.