Tag: Timekeeping

No time entry? No money (or at least less money).

This is becoming a trend, and it's not surprising.

Would you want this policy to be implemented at your law firm?

What's a poor associate to do? Thoughts from Biglaw partner turned in-house counsel Mark Herrmann.

One Biglaw firm's new time entry policy could bring negative consequences during bonus season.

According to the ATL Insider Survey, which practice areas and law firms offer the best (and the worst) hours?

Do clients really know what associates are doing during all those billable hours? Because a lot of the time it's not helping get the job done.

Gary Luftspring of Ricketts, Harris answers 10 questions for the ATL Interrogatories, sponsored by Lateral Link.

Seven more ways of staying (or at least looking) busy, while you put in your law-firm face time.

Seven recommended ways of staying (or at least looking) busy, while you put in your law-firm face time.

As we all know from the law-and-economics reasoning that was taught to us in law school, people -- yes, this includes lawyers -- respond to incentives. At one leading law firm, bonus anxiety is being shrewdly harnessed in service of collections efforts. CHECK YOU TIME SHEETS....

Mastering assignments begins with understanding what the lawyers you are working for want. You are not in law school; this is not a contest where you are graded against other students. Clients want answers, not issue spotting. Sophisticated clients already know the issues. Clients want answers based on the facts and applicable law — not […]

I’ve received a couple of e-mails from associates at large firms saying that these folks sit at their desks dreaming about having in-house jobs: One client instead of many competing for your time. More manageable workload. A broader range of work. Less stress. An opportunity to think strategically instead of wallowing in minutiae. No more […]

What did you do yesterday? I’m assuming you went to work. Did you put in a full day? Great. Let’s assume you got started around 9:00, took about an hour for lunch, and signed off at 7:00. Maybe for you that’s a light day, or maybe that’s a long day. Doesn’t matter. So that means […]

Welcome to the world of Biglaw — a world of wonder, a world of magic, a world of pure imagination — okay, not really. After you are done watching Willy Wonka, come with me and you’ll see a world of schedules, time constraints, and statutory deadlines with loopholes and an infinite number of exceptions. If […]

Jerry Maguire made a memorable plea to retain his client: “Help me, help you. Help me, help you.” As a summer clerk, you are very expensive for the law firm — in addition to your salary and entertainment expenses, firms spend hundreds of attorney hours monitoring your work and keeping you interested. You do not […]

I find it funny that firms that want to skimp on bonuses also expect associates to make sure they are helping the overall health and performance of the firm. At some level, why should associates care if the firm is up to date on its collections? It’s not like that money is going to trickle […]

If you talk to law firm partners who are in charge of collecting fees, they’ll tell you that getting clients to pay has become a real hassle ever since the recession started. Clients are trying to make their books look as palatable as possible, and if that means avoiding or delaying payments to their lawyers, […]