Associate at law firms billing low hours

[Anonymous]

How long before they let you go? What if they are building up a practice and tell you not to worry? Would you worry?

[Anonymous]

You should worry.

[Anonymous]

I guess I should add I'm looking, but not sure how long firms give notice in these kinds of situations.

[Anonymous]

You should worry. Partners like to avoid confrontation, oddly enough, but they aren't going to keep you if you aren't making them money. Look elsewhere, both in and out of the firm. Get hours whoever you can and make yourself available when others aren't. I think six months of low hours is standard but your six months has already started.

[Anonymous]

don't believe them if they tell you not to worry. you should worry. try to build up your hours, but also look for another job.

[Anonymous]

Depends how low. 1700 low may be okay, 1400 low not so much. The forecast for demand in the legal industry is not so great right now and I think firms are going to be doing another round of cuts in the new year.

[Anonymous]

At my firm there are three responses to low hours. Response one, you are placed on a six month probation period, during which you are expected to get your hours up. Response two, which often follows response one if you do not raise your hours, you have three months to leave the firm. During that three month period the associate is either paid her regular salary or they are paid based on their billables each month.

[Anonymous]

I can't build my hours because I'm specialized and the work just isn't here. They overhired. I got offered this job because of my government experience, but haven't hit my hours a single month since I've been here. I think 3-6 months sounds like the minimum I'll get. Do firms usually do something in writing in these cases?

Thanks for the insight. The worst is that I was hoping to have another child and never expected this problem.

[Anonymous]

You should definitely worry. I'd guess you'll get 3 months, 4 max, once they start to "counsel you out." 6 months is overly optimistic. You probably won't get anything in writing, unless you're already pregnant. If you are already pregnant, this is the one type of situation where I would probably start telling people at work early.

[Anonymous]

Are you new and they are just starting your practice area? I think that's a little different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you new and they are just starting your practice area? I think that's a little different.

Expanding the practice area. There is a newish partner. I've been here for about 10 months and am the only associate.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the firm. Sounds like you're at a small firm, which means that it's even harder to generalize. Try to look at it from the partners' perspective. If you're costing the firm money -- billing less than you make -- they will only be able to afford it for so long. Even if your partner wants to keep you, he will need a reason that's good enough to convince the other partners. If you're making money for the firm you could potentially be safe for much longer, since the discussion would then be your practice area versus bringing in an associate in some other practice area where there's more business.

If you want to be safe, seek work from other partners even if it's outside your practice area. Nothing is safer than being profitable.

[Anonymous]

One of my friends was in the same position as you - specialized area and firm expanding her practice area - and she was billing less than 1400 hours for a while. The partners' response? You need to get your own clients or bring in the work yourself.

[Anonymous]

If you're break-even and the only associate who does what you do (they can't split your workload among others) you may be OK. But I wouldn't rest on my laurels.

[Anonymous]

I know someone who needed to build up clients, and
specialized in family law. He did seminars about the required state paperwork for divorces, sure a lot of the attendees would go pro se. (That was the hook for the seminar, how to fill out the paperwork yourself and what was required if you were getting a divorce, what classes you had to take if you had kids, what documents you needed for financial paperwork, etc.) But some attendees would wind up coming to him and giving him their business.