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Billable hours
每 harnessed to the clock
Keeping a daily time sheet is a way of life for lawyers. Most track their work time in six-minute increments〞※0.1 hour§ on the client's bill. A lawyer's service is professional knowledge and skill. Time is the commodity sold to clients.
The billable hour traces its history back to 1914 in Boston, USA. A Harvard trained lawyer named, Reginald Heber Smith, devised a detailed system based on new theories of ※scientific management.§ By the 1950's billing time for legal services was gaining in popularity in the US.
Competing with time billing was flat-fee billing encouraged by state bar associations. Fixed, statewide, flat-fee schedules ended in 1975 after the US Supreme Courted ruled that they violated antitrust law. Lawyers were free to bill according to market demands. Billable hours became the standard charging procedure for nearly every legal service.
In the US, law firm quotas of "billable hours" per year, range from 1700 to 2300 for each associate. As associate compensation has increased dramatically in the last five year, so have firm billable hour quotas.
In China, billable hour quotas vary with the highest found in US-based international firms. These numbers are for associates in leading US, UK and PRC firms ( including: Baker & McKenzie; Paul Hastings; Jones Day; Allen & Overy; Linklaters; Herbert Smith; Jun He; King & Wood; and Zhong Lun).
| Range of billable hours |
US firms
|
1450 ~ 2000 |
| UK firms |
1400 ~ 1700 |
| PRC firms |
1400 ~ 1800 |
Young lawyers often find it challenging to meet billing requirements. There are three components to achieving billable hours requirements: (1) having sufficient time in which to work, (2) having sufficient work , and(3) recording time properly. Consider these situations and the possible solutions.
| Situation 1 |
Too few assignments from your partner |
| Suggestion |
Build relationships with supervisor(s) responsible for assigning work. Lawyers are more likely to delegate billable work to you if they trust you on a personal level and have had positive work experiences with you. |
| Situation 2 |
Time spent out of your office |
| Suggestion |
Find ways to bill time when you work for a couple hours at home on weekends. Use waiting time at the airport during a business trip. |
| Situation 3 |
Developing relationships with coworkers and clients |
| Suggestion |
There must be a balance between limiting non-billable time and developing relationships with coworkers and clients. But, realize that every minute spent on non-billable work must be made up at some future time. |
Mostly, the solutions to meeting billable hour quotas are commitment to the work, discipline to stay focused on the task, and not forgetting to write it down!
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