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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP back.  This thread has gotten off topic, but thank you for those who answered the question.

So, here is my day generally if I'm not dealing with interviewing at schools or travelling for work (not billable):

Wake up at 5:30 AM -- breakfast, clothing, pack myself for the day, straighten up, and deal with all the emergency emails I had overnight (I generally don't bill for these 1-3 minute emails, because I cannot bill for 0.01 of an hour)
6:30-7:00 AM -- leave for DC.
8-8:30 AM -- arrive in office and set up computer to deal with emails/calls
9:00 - 10:00 AM -- gym/shower/dressed
10 AM - 7 PM -- work like crazy, but dealing with pitches, responses to team members on cases that I'm not on (but collegial office so can't ignore), work for cases that I'm told cannot be billed, practice-group meetings, interviews, billable hour tracking, trainings, bathroom, lunch all suck up actual work time and I'm careful to only bill clients the $500+/hour for time that I am 100% productive.  Plus, pro bono does not fully count and I always am on a pro bono case.  If pro bono counted, that alone would allow me to make my hours.  Or, if I billed on bathroom breaks as I know my colleagues do, that would help.  Or if I did billable work during travel (knowing that it is less productive in tiny, uncomfortable seats with people constantly interrupting you), that would help.  But, I don't and I won't play that game.
8:30 PM -- arrive home, eat, try to unwind.
11 PM - ... -- sometimes have to go back to work, but sometimes have a very interrupted sleep with 2 children that wake up often.

My weekends are not free: (1) we don't have a weekend nanny; (2) we have church and other activities; (3) I have a family and friends; (5) we try to go away on weekends to make up for not taking vacation.  I try not to work on weekends, but yes, I do work then too.

I am barely sleeping as it is.  Am I expected to sleep less?  And, yes, I have to go to the gym -- the people in my office are fat and I gained 20 pounds in the first 6 months at the firm.

I am in a specialty practice.[/quote]

Okay, you have an hour and half commute each way, don't bill for all the time you work, constantly work pro bono that doesn't count toward your billables, take an hour during the day to work out, and don't start work until 10am.

This isn't a BigLaw problem, this is a [b]you[/b] problem.  You chose a three hour commute each day.  You're choosing not to bill accurately (pro tip: partners are going to write off a lot of your time before it gets to the client anyway, so saying you won't bill on an airplane because you cannot be 100% productive for the full hour is self defeating nonsense).  You're going away on weekends and complaining about not making your hours, this is just completely self-created chaos.
[/quote]

There are a few issues here. Some you may be able to change and some not. The commute is a huge issue. I am also a biglaw associate (9yrs) with 2 young children. But I live a 15 minute walk from the office - and I chose to do that (and give up the big house/yard, etc) precisely  because of the issues you mention. I spend 30 mins commuting each day and it is a pleasant walk which allows me to clear my head and get into "office mode" or "mom mode". I do continue to work after the kids are asleep and I am lucky because they are both very good sleepers. A lot about having good sleepers is luck, but there may be some things you can work on with your kids to encourage better sleep habits. The gym - I hear what you're saying about needing to exercise, and it's great that you do - but you might have to do that less frequently or find another way to incorporate exercise into your life (e.g. could you cycle to work?) It seems crazy to me that you don't start working until 10am, despite getting up at 5:30am. 
I think the way you are billing is also not right. Perhaps your firm does this differently, but when I started work, I was told that I should bill for all the work I did - no matter if I thought I might have been a bit slow or inefficient or whatever. I just bill what I do. If the partner reviewing the bill (or the client) thinks that some time should be written off or whatever then that is a decision for them. You, as the junior associate, are absolutely not entitled to make that call. Same with billable work during travel. If you aren't using that time to work then don't bill, but if you are, then you bill. It's not a "game", it's how billable time works, and the partners will correct billing discrepancies like this and clients may also strike off time. 
You also need to take control of the non-billable work that you do. Some is unavoidable, but others that you've listed are not. Pro bono is great, but if you're in a firm that doesn't fully credit pro bono hours then you need to do less of it, quite simply. (You should also think about moving to a firm that does credit pro bono work, like my firm and many others). Doing interviews, if you mean interviewing law students for jobs, is incredibly time consuming and you should just say no to that. 
Honestly, to me it reads that what you are saying is: how can I do a full 2000 billable hour year as a biglaw associate while only working a 45 hour week (including non-billable time)? The answer is, you can't. So you either need to change the way you work or your career. [/quote]

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