Convalescent Leave at Law Firm

[Anonymous]

I agree with PPs. OP, why were your hours so low that you didn't meet the requirement for missing 3 days of work. I could see if you were in the hospital for 4 months or something, but otherwise, as an Associate, you are expected to bill, bill, bill. Three days is simply a long weekend of work. Also, why were you not teleworking (on the plane, during downtime, etc.)?? Lastly, if you make a stink over your bonus, your partners are not going to be happy and will not forget your greed the following year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A few comments from a biglaw partner:

- There are associates who understand the game, and there are associates who don't. Those who complain, lament, etc typically don't understand the game, and are unlikely to make partner.
- There is no reason an associate should be less than 95% efficiency for a 50 hour week (barring lack of work). The people listing things like bathroom as a cut into their hours.... are exactly the people mentioned in my first bullet as not being able to play the game. Associates don't have bills to review, pitches to participate in, etc. CLEs? You do PLI on your computer while you're working on something else billable. You want to do a lot of pro bono? That's on you (no other industry pays people for doing charity work not consistent with the company's mission!). I agree associates should be doing articles, but that is probably once a quarter and perfectly designed for a quiet Sunday afternoon (or a lull in billable work). I promise you no one ever made partner on a 37/50 hour efficiency as an associate (though a few years after you make partner, your efficiency definitely goes way down)
- Very sad about OP's grandparent. But can we ask an honest question..... why did OP take 3 full days off work for a grandparent funeral? Doesn't that seem weird in biglaw? While 3 days of bereavement seems extremely short on paper, for practical purposes it seems weird you wouldn't have a LOT of downtime.
- I think OP's evaluator was sending a strong message that they think OP isn't valuable. Read between the lines and be looking for a backup plan.

The above sounds super harsh, which is really funny because I'm actually an incredibly balanced normal partner. I was part time for years, I don't typically work weekends, and work almost entirely from home. The beauty of biglaw is that the work arrangement is exceptionally transparent: You need to bill enough to be financially worthwhile to the firm. And if you do so, you won't be fired and you will be paid a LOT of money. Those who succeed aren't necessarily the ones putting in the longest days - they're typically the ones who figure out the system in the most efficient manner. They definitely aren't the ones complaining about their bereavement leave not counting towards bonus requirements.

It's funny timing because I actually spent the last 2 days completely flat on my back from a kidney infection. I was entirely incapacitated and sleeping nonstop - couldn't even send a text, so I sure as shit wasn't working. Reality is that I understand that means I have to make up some time this weekend. I'm not thrilled about it, but I make literally 10 times what all my girlfriends make in non legal jobs. I think I can suck up 5 hours on Sunday night....

Bullshit. 95% efficiency is not possible if you're billing ethically and legally.

It absolutely is if you cut out the bullshit stuff filling your day.

No, it's not. You can't bill for taking a piss. You can't bill for drinking coffee. You can't bill for time entry. You can't bill for reading conflict checks. You can't bill for taking time to read legal and business news. You can't bill for recruiting. It goes on and on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, billable hour requirement doesn’t change unless there is a formal change to your work schedule (you go 80% or have maternity leave). Sick days, funerals, vacation. Billable requirement is the same.

OP here: If that is true, in what sense is this “paid time off”? I checked the written policy and it says bereavement leave is paid time off “treated as time worked.” I supposed it doesn’t says “billable time worked,” but then what is the point of it? The policy has different amounts of time for different relatives. What is the point if the hours requirement is the same???

The point is you are getting paid (your base salary) for your time off. It would be illogical if taking time off helped you process toward an (optional) bonus that’s clearly awarded based on hours billed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A few comments from a biglaw partner:

- There are associates who understand the game, and there are associates who don't. Those who complain, lament, etc typically don't understand the game, and are unlikely to make partner.
- There is no reason an associate should be less than 95% efficiency for a 50 hour week (barring lack of work). The people listing things like bathroom as a cut into their hours.... are exactly the people mentioned in my first bullet as not being able to play the game. Associates don't have bills to review, pitches to participate in, etc. CLEs? You do PLI on your computer while you're working on something else billable. You want to do a lot of pro bono? That's on you (no other industry pays people for doing charity work not consistent with the company's mission!). I agree associates should be doing articles, but that is probably once a quarter and perfectly designed for a quiet Sunday afternoon (or a lull in billable work). I promise you no one ever made partner on a 37/50 hour efficiency as an associate (though a few years after you make partner, your efficiency definitely goes way down)
- Very sad about OP's grandparent. But can we ask an honest question..... why did OP take 3 full days off work for a grandparent funeral? Doesn't that seem weird in biglaw? While 3 days of bereavement seems extremely short on paper, for practical purposes it seems weird you wouldn't have a LOT of downtime.
- I think OP's evaluator was sending a strong message that they think OP isn't valuable. Read between the lines and be looking for a backup plan.

The above sounds super harsh, which is really funny because I'm actually an incredibly balanced normal partner. I was part time for years, I don't typically work weekends, and work almost entirely from home. The beauty of biglaw is that the work arrangement is exceptionally transparent: You need to bill enough to be financially worthwhile to the firm. And if you do so, you won't be fired and you will be paid a LOT of money. Those who succeed aren't necessarily the ones putting in the longest days - they're typically the ones who figure out the system in the most efficient manner. They definitely aren't the ones complaining about their bereavement leave not counting towards bonus requirements.

It's funny timing because I actually spent the last 2 days completely flat on my back from a kidney infection. I was entirely incapacitated and sleeping nonstop - couldn't even send a text, so I sure as shit wasn't working. Reality is that I understand that means I have to make up some time this weekend. I'm not thrilled about it, but I make literally 10 times what all my girlfriends make in non legal jobs. I think I can suck up 5 hours on Sunday night....

Bullshit. 95% efficiency is not possible if you're billing ethically and legally.

It absolutely is if you cut out the bullshit stuff filling your day.

No, it's not. You can't bill for taking a piss. You can't bill for drinking coffee. You can't bill for time entry. You can't bill for reading conflict checks. You can't bill for taking time to read legal and business news. You can't bill for recruiting. It goes on and on.

Easy. Stop drinking the big gulp coffee and you won’t pee like a racehorse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A few comments from a biglaw partner:

- There are associates who understand the game, and there are associates who don't. Those who complain, lament, etc typically don't understand the game, and are unlikely to make partner.
- There is no reason an associate should be less than 95% efficiency for a 50 hour week (barring lack of work). The people listing things like bathroom as a cut into their hours.... are exactly the people mentioned in my first bullet as not being able to play the game. Associates don't have bills to review, pitches to participate in, etc. CLEs? You do PLI on your computer while you're working on something else billable. You want to do a lot of pro bono? That's on you (no other industry pays people for doing charity work not consistent with the company's mission!). I agree associates should be doing articles, but that is probably once a quarter and perfectly designed for a quiet Sunday afternoon (or a lull in billable work). I promise you no one ever made partner on a 37/50 hour efficiency as an associate (though a few years after you make partner, your efficiency definitely goes way down)
- Very sad about OP's grandparent. But can we ask an honest question..... why did OP take 3 full days off work for a grandparent funeral? Doesn't that seem weird in biglaw? While 3 days of bereavement seems extremely short on paper, for practical purposes it seems weird you wouldn't have a LOT of downtime.
- I think OP's evaluator was sending a strong message that they think OP isn't valuable. Read between the lines and be looking for a backup plan.

The above sounds super harsh, which is really funny because I'm actually an incredibly balanced normal partner. I was part time for years, I don't typically work weekends, and work almost entirely from home. The beauty of biglaw is that the work arrangement is exceptionally transparent: You need to bill enough to be financially worthwhile to the firm. And if you do so, you won't be fired and you will be paid a LOT of money. Those who succeed aren't necessarily the ones putting in the longest days - they're typically the ones who figure out the system in the most efficient manner. They definitely aren't the ones complaining about their bereavement leave not counting towards bonus requirements.

It's funny timing because I actually spent the last 2 days completely flat on my back from a kidney infection. I was entirely incapacitated and sleeping nonstop - couldn't even send a text, so I sure as shit wasn't working. Reality is that I understand that means I have to make up some time this weekend. I'm not thrilled about it, but I make literally 10 times what all my girlfriends make in non legal jobs. I think I can suck up 5 hours on Sunday night....

Bullshit. 95% efficiency is not possible if you're billing ethically and legally.

It absolutely is if you cut out the bullshit stuff filling your day.

No, it's not. You can't bill for taking a piss. You can't bill for drinking coffee. You can't bill for time entry. You can't bill for reading conflict checks. You can't bill for taking time to read legal and business news. You can't bill for recruiting. It goes on and on.

Work and drink coffee at the same time.

Associates who fail out of biglaw and complain about stuff like this…. It becomes obvious why they didn’t thrive in biglaw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A few comments from a biglaw partner:

- There are associates who understand the game, and there are associates who don't. Those who complain, lament, etc typically don't understand the game, and are unlikely to make partner.
- There is no reason an associate should be less than 95% efficiency for a 50 hour week (barring lack of work). The people listing things like bathroom as a cut into their hours.... are exactly the people mentioned in my first bullet as not being able to play the game. Associates don't have bills to review, pitches to participate in, etc. CLEs? You do PLI on your computer while you're working on something else billable. You want to do a lot of pro bono? That's on you (no other industry pays people for doing charity work not consistent with the company's mission!). I agree associates should be doing articles, but that is probably once a quarter and perfectly designed for a quiet Sunday afternoon (or a lull in billable work). I promise you no one ever made partner on a 37/50 hour efficiency as an associate (though a few years after you make partner, your efficiency definitely goes way down)
- Very sad about OP's grandparent. But can we ask an honest question..... why did OP take 3 full days off work for a grandparent funeral? Doesn't that seem weird in biglaw? While 3 days of bereavement seems extremely short on paper, for practical purposes it seems weird you wouldn't have a LOT of downtime.
- I think OP's evaluator was sending a strong message that they think OP isn't valuable. Read between the lines and be looking for a backup plan.

The above sounds super harsh, which is really funny because I'm actually an incredibly balanced normal partner. I was part time for years, I don't typically work weekends, and work almost entirely from home. The beauty of biglaw is that the work arrangement is exceptionally transparent: You need to bill enough to be financially worthwhile to the firm. And if you do so, you won't be fired and you will be paid a LOT of money. Those who succeed aren't necessarily the ones putting in the longest days - they're typically the ones who figure out the system in the most efficient manner. They definitely aren't the ones complaining about their bereavement leave not counting towards bonus requirements.

It's funny timing because I actually spent the last 2 days completely flat on my back from a kidney infection. I was entirely incapacitated and sleeping nonstop - couldn't even send a text, so I sure as shit wasn't working. Reality is that I understand that means I have to make up some time this weekend. I'm not thrilled about it, but I make literally 10 times what all my girlfriends make in non legal jobs. I think I can suck up 5 hours on Sunday night....

Bullshit. 95% efficiency is not possible if you're billing ethically and legally.

It absolutely is if you cut out the bullshit stuff filling your day.

No, it's not. You can't bill for taking a piss. You can't bill for drinking coffee. You can't bill for time entry. You can't bill for reading conflict checks. You can't bill for taking time to read legal and business news. You can't bill for recruiting. It goes on and on.

Please show me a third year associate who is reading conflict checks. Or reading legal and business news (above the law doesn’t count).

Stuff like recruiting: you say no where possible, or be the last to respond to the email asking for volunteers. As someone who has interviewed two people in five years, and precisely one hour of pro bono a year since I made partner, I can promise you firms don’t care. Associates do this stuff because they like to vary what they’re working on and be social at work. But they are optional. The only valid item on your list is time entry. Oh, and I guess your thirty mins daily coffee during which you stare into space thinking of seahorses rather than working.