Big Law— how many hours this year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:3100

This is highly questionable, and probably a troll. 3100 hours is 8.5 hours every single day of the year with no days off including weekends. It’s 10 hours every day if you had one weekend day off a week. And that is only billable, without admin or firm junk that takes time. So if this is real, no way you didn’t pad these billables. And if it really is real with no padding, I hope your bonus is excellent, or I hope you’re a partner whose comp is closely related to these billables. At my firm which uses the standard scale but extra for those who exceed, the extra is 100% not worth it - it’s maybe an extra 30k but for an additional 1000 hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3100

This is highly questionable, and probably a troll. 3100 hours is 8.5 hours every single day of the year with no days off including weekends. It’s 10 hours every day if you had one weekend day off a week. And that is only billable, without admin or firm junk that takes time. So if this is real, no way you didn’t pad these billables. And if it really is real with no padding, I hope your bonus is excellent, or I hope you’re a partner whose comp is closely related to these billables. At my firm which uses the standard scale but extra for those who exceed, the extra is 100% not worth it - it’s maybe an extra 30k but for an additional 1000 hours.

It's perfectly believable. Wouldn't want to do it, but it's not hard if you're doing deal work or going to trial.

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of curious biglaw associates on this forum who are holding out on posting their own hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m seriously impressed big law parents logged that many hours. I left big law for gov right before the pandemic and was so glad I did. I was very unproductive from March until July when camps opened and even now with paying for private in person schools the schools have crazy hours and close periodically. I generally work from 9-2:30 and then an hour at night. My agency gives us 20 hours of covid leave each pay period. I could not have managed big law this year! Man I miss that bonus though

Do you take the 20 hours covid leave consistently every pay period or only occasionally?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2100 is kind of low, but acceptable

If you’re a sucker.

[Anonymous]

Big law partner here. I've worked at 2 well regarded firms in DC (top 50 am law type thing). In both firms, average billable hours were in the 1600s for equity pace partners, not much higher for non-equity partners, and in the 1700s for associates. I know people love on this site to talk about their crazy hours and 2100 being low.... but in DC, there are a LOT of regulatory and other practices where 2000+ hours a year are near impossible. And lots of associates and partners going home by 6:30 every night (pre covid).

I will bill around 1750 this year, which is just a smudge shy of last year -- but solidly above average for the partners in my large practice group of probably 50-70 partners. I will still get a comfortable bonus this year based on those hours.

As to the covid impact, back in march we all thought we'd be dead and unemployed. But my practice area, and a bunch of others, ended up being insanely busy this year despite the economic slump.

[Anonymous]

Aiming for 2100, which at my firm means 1900 client chargeable and up to 200 pro bono. Pro bono is already well over the threshold because I had a lot of free time in March - May, but for the same reason it's coming down to the wire on client chargeable. Just about 100 hours to go, and based on my case load I should make it.

Bonus doesn't hit until next February, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:3100

Cheater

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m seriously impressed big law parents logged that many hours. I left big law for gov right before the pandemic and was so glad I did. I was very unproductive from March until July when camps opened and even now with paying for private in person schools the schools have crazy hours and close periodically. I generally work from 9-2:30 and then an hour at night. My agency gives us 20 hours of covid leave each pay period. I could not have managed big law this year! Man I miss that bonus though

Do you take the 20 hours covid leave consistently every pay period or only occasionally?

We’ve gotten 20 hours of covid-related administrative leave a pay period since late spring. I expect it will go through the school year. It’s been incredibly helpful to only have to log about 6 hours a day. It’s for caregivers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m seriously impressed big law parents logged that many hours. I left big law for gov right before the pandemic and was so glad I did. I was very unproductive from March until July when camps opened and even now with paying for private in person schools the schools have crazy hours and close periodically. I generally work from 9-2:30 and then an hour at night. My agency gives us 20 hours of covid leave each pay period. I could not have managed big law this year! Man I miss that bonus though

Do you take the 20 hours covid leave consistently every pay period or only occasionally?

We’ve gotten 20 hours of covid-related administrative leave a pay period since late spring. I expect it will go through the school year. It’s been incredibly helpful to only have to log about 6 hours a day. It’s for caregivers.

Realized I didn’t answer your question. Yes I take it every pay period because even when school is in session both my infants daycare and my older kids preschool have abridged hours to allow for extra cleaning and no mixing of staff without overtime.

[Anonymous]

My husband is ex big law and about 8 years ago he started a firm with four other lawyers (now around 30) and they don’t bill by the hour. With their clients they have a basic retainer and then a success fee. They do a lot of M&A type work plus other work where success can be measured. He and his partners work fewer hours than they use to but make a lot more money. He truly hated the idea of billable hours because he knew clients hated it.

[Anonymous]

DH equity partner at AmLaw 25 firm, billed 2100 hrs + nonbillable hours. He does regulatory law.

The super busy lawyers in his group bill 2000+, but most bill 1600-1800. Associates need to bill 1800 to be in good standing, although the ones that advance into senior associates bill more than that.

But it is firm-dependent. At his last firm, where he started, he billed 2300 hrs most years and was in the middle of the pack of associates. His friend is a partner at that firm, and still bills 2100+ hrs as a partner in his 50s.

[Anonymous]

On track for 2300 which is about average for me. My clients really weren't affected by the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Equity partner with regulatory practice at one of the big traditional DC firms. Will be right at 2000, well over 1800 expectation, but below 2200-2300 pace of the past couple years. Non-billable hours are only 350, half of a normal year. The lack of travel for conferences and marketing really made a difference. For all the challenges of 2020, I got to know my kids a lot better.

[Anonymous]

I had a parental leave this year, but my annualized hours were just over 2400, which is around where I always am. My high year was just under 2600. I always have significant nonbillables on top of that (in excess of 200 hours per year). Senior associate and up for partner.