Hourly targets are a bugger. When I was in practice, I think you needed to have billed something like 1,800 hours to get a bonus. And that seemed fairly reasonable, 1,800 hours. No sweat. But how exactly does it work out, on a day-to-day basis? And is it really possible to join those people who boast about hammering down 2,300 hours?
Well here's Yale Law School to show you that - with some complicated workings - then yes, it is possible to stick thousands and thousands of hours into Carpe Diem. But also that it's largely incompatible with any kind of life away from your air-conditioned glass box.
The methodology is US-firm focussed (where you're more likely to come across inflated targets - and inflated lawyers who boast about their beastings), and there can't be many City lawyers who take an hour for lunch nowadays (although us Europeans probably insist on more than three weeks' vacation...). Even so, this makes for sobering and essential reading for all.
Here's a brief extract - although you should read the whole thing here.
To bill 1,800 hours:
Assume you “work” from 8:00 am - 6:00 pm each day 10.0
Assume you take an hour for lunch -1.0
Assume you take two 15 minute coffee breaks - .5
Assume you spend a half-hour reading legal updates and reviewing general correspondence - .5
Assume you will need to attend department meetings, occasional conferences, and do CLE - .5
This means that you work 10 hours a day but may bill 7.5
If you work a 5 day week x 5Y
You have been at work 50 hours and billed 37.5
If you do this all year long, and we assume:
3 weeks vacation
2 weeks holiday
No sick days or personal days
You will work 47 weeks x 47
And have billed an annual average of 1762
To gain an extra 70 hours to be respectable you could:
(a) Add approximately 1 ½ hours a week (approximately 20 minutes a day)
1 ½ x 47 weeks = 70
So come in at 8:00 am and work until 6:20 pm Mon - Fri
You have achieved 1832
BUT You have been “at work” 2420
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