We hear stories about big firm associates billing crazy numbers of hours. When I got out of law school back in 1987, the story was that big firm lawyers billed a minimum of 1,800 hours per year. They made it sound like billing that much resulted in a miserable existence for the lawyers.
Since then, I’ve heard the number creeping up. It went from 1,800 to 2,000 to 2,400. Recently, I overheard a conversation about someone billing 3,000 hours.
I have no idea what really goes on in big firms. I don’t know whether those numbers include nonbillable time, pro bono work, firm hours, etc. It’s not really important for me to understand the billing practices of big firms doing what they do with big corporate clients. It’s a world apart from mine.
However, hearing those numbers does affect our smaller firm lives in one way.
We complain about our associates and their billing habits.
I hear lots of complaints from lawyers who have hired associates. They complain about the number of hours they’re getting from their young lawyers. They aren’t happy.
I’ll tell you that the complaining about associates (and paralegals) and their billables is universal. Most of us aren’t happy with the productivity of our lawyers, regardless of how many hours the associates bill. I’ve heard complaints from lawyers getting 40 hours a month, 90 hours, 120 hours, and 150 hours. There’s lots of complaining, and it’s clearly not related to any particular objective standard of what an associate “should” be billing. I think we’re affected by those big firm stories. Our associates never perform like we believe the big firm associates are performing.
Of course, having associates bill a healthy number of hours doesn’t help if you’ve got other issues. For instance, if your hourly rate is too low or your associate compensation is too high, it won’t matter how many hours they’re billing. The system is flawed, and you’re going to have trouble.
It’s helpful, however, to know what you can reasonably expect from an associate so you aren’t banging your head against the wall in frustration all the time.
What’s realistic? What should you expect from an associate?
I’ve been listening carefully for the past few months, and I’ve come up with a standard.
I think, in the practice of family law, that you should expect a minimum of 100 hours per month in billable work. When I say 100, I mean 100 after all of the craziness that happens to the hours like write-downs, discounts, adjustments, etc. You should expect a bill to go out for a minimum of 100 hours.
Are some firms doing better than 100? Yes, some are, but there are quite a few doing worse. Would I be happy with 100 hours personally? Probably not, but I’m pretty much unhappy with everything all the time. I enjoy complaining.
I think you can use 100 hours to give yourself a sense of whether your system is acceptable. If you’re below 100, then you need to make some quick changes. If you’re at or above 100 per month, then you can breathe a sigh of relief, stop complaining, and start figuring out how to improve on something that is basically working.
There are lots of reasons why family law associates bill fewer hours than their big firm counterparts. We need to accept that the gross number of hours will be lower. It’s important, however, for us to understand whether we have a sick system or a healthy system in our offices. At 100 hours, you’ve got a system that doesn’t require complaints.
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Lee Rosen has practiced family law for more than twenty years. With three offices, 