How Summer Associates Can — Succeed In A Challenging Economy — Overcome Adversity And —Find Excellence Everywhere, PART 4

Accounting For Time

Welcome to a profession where you are paid for your time. Clients pay for legal services by the hour. Recording your time accurately, comprehensively, and consistently is important to your firm, its clients, and your career. Developing this habit takes effort but it must be done. Record your time daily and turn it in daily. Most firms look closely at lawyer’s time in assessing the productivity, profitability, and making decisions about compensation and promotion. Most firms will ask that you enter four types of information in a format like this

            Your advisor, recruiting coordinator, or secretary can teach you the details. But you are setting yourself up to meet with Dr. Kevorkian if you do not get in the habit of careful time keeping. If you do not record your time every day, you will lose track of what you have done. This will lead to ❏ lost time ❏ inaccurate chargeable hours ❏ and incomplete descriptions of work performed. Your time charges must be sufficiently detailed to be understood by the billing attorney and the firm’s client. A cryptic reference such as ‘research’ is not sufficient. Explain the nature and scope of the research —

Research and draft memorandum on Alabama standards for summary judgment in premises liability matter

Likewise, if you meet with an attorney, the entry “meet with John” is inadequate. Instead your time entry should read

Meeting with John Smith re: summary judgment standards in securities fraud matters in 8^th Circuit. Evaluate revisions to compulsory counterclaims against Republic Gypsum.

            The time you record on June 2d, is shown on a computer print out generated in early July. It is reviewed by the billing partner, finalized, and sent to the client in later in July. Questions from the client will be received during August or September — after you return to school. It is irritating and time-consuming to decipher and edit superficial time records two months afterwards. Time that cannot be explained cannot be collected.

            Accuracy means recording the time you spend. It does not mean double thinking whether you should round up or down. Your hourly rate reflects the firm’s assessment of your capability and efficiency. The billing partner will decide whether to write off, write down, or write up your time. Do not lose yourself in the weeds of second-guessing the basis of time based billing.

            Don’t become obsessed with hours — the profession attracts hard-working professionals. In a healthy economy, meeting the firm’s chargeable hour target will take care of itself. Most firms understand that summer associate have substantial down time, time charged to firm or administrative matters. If you remain obsessed by the almighty chargeable hour, please ask for a copy of my 1996 report — Worshiping False Profits— How Hours-Based Billing and Compensation Killed The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg.

This is a special continuing series designed for law students.  The next installment will be Friday, January 22nd.