Law Firm - How to Handle "Temp Number" Abuse

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am OP. The year closed and the hours are still in limbo because the partner never opened a matter. Without the hours I don’t make my annual hours target. Missing hours means missing bonus.

I have talked to the partner about it a bunch of times and he always says he’ll open a matter, but never does. Other than finding a new job, what should I do?

Did you take time off in December? You knew then you didn't have 100 hours and could have crunched out extra billables when others were on leave.

[Anonymous]

Partners were doing this and other shenanigans at a firm I worked at that collapsed after the last great recession.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Partners were doing this and other shenanigans at a firm I worked at that collapsed after the last great recession.

Good ol, Dewey.

Definitely could be a sign of worsening financial conditions for the firm.

[Anonymous]

Temp hours are billable hours, not overhead. If partner chooses not to bill, it should move to overhead or partner should pay the bill. The only purpose for your firm’s temp number policy is for partners to steal hours from associates. Go somewhere else or get a competing offer or accept your lower pay. Free market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you also charge to overhead? It sounds like they're trying to keep you on and employed during less busy times.

If only this charitable explanation were true. Time held in temp numbers does not count as hours for meeting the annual billing requirement. If someone were to pull my time today it would look like I am below capacity. Adding in the temp time, I am actually a little over capacity. Thus, the partners who are doing this is wrecking my stats, not helping me look better in less busy times.

But let’s assume you were given no temp time assignments. When you say wrecking your stats I don’t think you are saying you had actually billable matters to work on but instead were compelled to do this non-billable work for the rainmaker right? Honestly, it just sounds like you aren’t busy enough to hit your hours. you want this temp time to convert to real billable hours fill in the hole you are in. In this market you should just consider this like BD time at least in the short term. Do it and move on but be proactive and look for actual billable work. If there is none to be found you better dust off your resume and at least start to explore what options you might have elsewhere…you can’t be passive about sitting below capacity

[Anonymous]

Your bonus comes out of this Partner's pocket, doesn't it?

He keeps more $ if you don't get your bonus, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It happens. Sometimes they need to do some research on an issue and farm it out to an associate, and then the potential client decides not to go forward, or can't afford it, or the issue resolves itself, etc. If the client has a General matter, bill your temp time to that and put in [Brackets] the matter name with TEMP. Then you can at least release that time - the partner can choose to write it off on the prebill/proforma if they want.

This is what I always do--all of our clients have a general number so I bill it to that and start the narrative with [BILL TO NEW XYZ MATTER]: and that always gets it remedied quickly.

Also, you can ask the partner's secretary about the new matter number.

[Anonymous]

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I would do as someone above said and post it to a matter for same client and let the partner transfer it. people do that on my matters all the time it's not a big deal or ask their admin for the number or when the number is coming up

That’s another solution. “I just billed this to Matter X instead, let me know when you have an engagement letter and I’ll have your assistant transfer the time.” It will piss him off if he’s taking advantage of you but you’ll get (some) credit and the firm will be aware of what he’s doing.

This is not politically smart.

Nor is it ethical.

There is no way that the person who suggested this was a lawyer. it is an incredibly stupid idea to falsely bill to the wrong client.

Its not billing its timekeeping with the expectation that it will be corrected before filling. And it isn't the wrong client, it is the wrong matter. Another PP and I both mentioned that is is standard in our firms to bill to a "general" matter for the specific client and note in the narrative that the time should be billed to the not yet in existence matter number. This gets transferred before the client is billed---which could mean it sits as unbilled time for an extra month, but it is not billed incorrectly.

[Anonymous]

This reminds me of my first few years as an associate back in the late 00s when the recession hit. Law firms when everyone is low on hours are not fun places to work! This partner should never have had you move forward with this volume of work without an active engagement in place from the client. It shows he is desperate for work and isn’t managing firm resources properly.

If I were OP I would be weary of working again for this partner. Being an associate is really tough- so many lawyers are awful managers and your career can be derailed if you get stuck working for a partner who is a bad manager.

[Anonymous]

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I would do as someone above said and post it to a matter for same client and let the partner transfer it. people do that on my matters all the time it's not a big deal or ask their admin for the number or when the number is coming up

That’s another solution. “I just billed this to Matter X instead, let me know when you have an engagement letter and I’ll have your assistant transfer the time.” It will piss him off if he’s taking advantage of you but you’ll get (some) credit and the firm will be aware of what he’s doing.

This is not politically smart.

Nor is it ethical.

There is no way that the person who suggested this was a lawyer. it is an incredibly stupid idea to falsely bill to the wrong client.

Its not billing its timekeeping with the expectation that it will be corrected before filling. And it isn't the wrong client, it is the wrong matter. Another PP and I both mentioned that is is standard in our firms to bill to a "general" matter for the specific client and note in the narrative that the time should be billed to the not yet in existence matter number. This gets transferred before the client is billed---which could mean it sits as unbilled time for an extra month, but it is not billed incorrectly.

I agree with the immediate PP that this is a good, if risky, strategy but ONLY if the other matter is also reviewed by the partner that keeps insisting that they'll open a matter for the work that OP did. Partner will see it on the bill that they're reviewing and do one of the following: 1) (Best case) see the entry during review, say to themselves "oh shit I need to open that matter," actually open it, and move the time over; 2) write it off, in which case at least it will count towards OP's billable hours but it will cut down OP's realization rate, so that's not great for performance reviews, 3) partner will get mad at OP and say "I told you to bill this to a temp number" and OP can say "well you've told me to do that a bunch and then never give me the matter and I didn't want to lose the revenue," or 4) partner will not see it and it will get passed on to the client, who will either not care b/c they have deep pockets or care a lot, get mad at the partner, and then outcome 3 will occur (but with more wrath because it got passed on to the client).

[Anonymous]

Op here again: Good news! I have a job offer elsewhere. I CAN NOT wait to give notice and make the move.

I can’t look at this situation as anything other than I was screwed and had no good options. There are some people who suggested that I wasn’t “busy enough” if I was doing this work as just extra on the side. This was not “side work.” I attended 2 all-day settlement conferences for this client. I was writing letters, getting my ear talked off by the client, getting ear talked off by opposing counsel, etc. I did less work on other matters because I was so wrapped up in this. Good riddance!

[Anonymous]

That was pretty quick from your update post yesterday to having a new job. Glad it worked out for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here again: Good news! I have a job offer elsewhere. I CAN NOT wait to give notice and make the move.

I can’t look at this situation as anything other than I was screwed and had no good options. There are some people who suggested that I wasn’t “busy enough” if I was doing this work as just extra on the side. This was not “side work.” I attended 2 all-day settlement conferences for this client. I was writing letters, getting my ear talked off by the client, getting ear talked off by opposing counsel, etc. I did less work on other matters because I was so wrapped up in this. Good riddance!

We didn't say you weren't busy, we said you didn't work billable hours and knew you needed to make more at the end of the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That was pretty quick from your update post yesterday to having a new job. Glad it worked out for you.

Thanks! I got an excellent lead in December and pursued in. It’s a little outside my wheelhouse, but I felt like I might need to move because I was not being treated fairly. I also thought I might want to have something else just for leverage. Now though, I can’t imagine staying at my firm given this nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here again: Good news! I have a job offer elsewhere. I CAN NOT wait to give notice and make the move.

I can’t look at this situation as anything other than I was screwed and had no good options. There are some people who suggested that I wasn’t “busy enough” if I was doing this work as just extra on the side. This was not “side work.” I attended 2 all-day settlement conferences for this client. I was writing letters, getting my ear talked off by the client, getting ear talked off by opposing counsel, etc. I did less work on other matters because I was so wrapped up in this. Good riddance!

That's insane-- how can you attend settlement conferences and talk to opposing counsel without having an engagement letter?

Congrats on getting out of that messed up situation.