Anonymous Lawyer’s Take on BigLaw Life Not So Far-Fetched
Lawmummy today writes a stinging analysis of the current state of staffing/hours at BigLaw firms - basically working attorneys to death with barely a bathroom break to meet their PPP goals. I love that she points out that even as attorneys slam doctors for being moneygrubbing pigs focused on the bottom line, they are outsourcing support staff (to the Phillipines?!?!) and laying off equity partners to further pad their pockets. With this bottom-line, billable hours-first focus, no wonder more and more women (and younger men) are fleeing the BigLaw life.
According to law.com, more than 80% of law firm management expects their attorneys to bill more hours this year. Of those, more than 50% expect their attorneys to bill more than 3% more.*******************
What does any of that mean? It means that, at a minimum, lawyers will be expected to put in about 1.5 hour per week (assuming no vacation time) more for no increase - and a lesser chance of making partner. This works out, again, assuming no sick days, holidays or time off for vacation. In strict mathematical numbers, that means on the lower end of the spectrum, the average workday will now be almost 11 hours per day, for 52 weeks of the year - no holidays, no vacation, no sick days. For the non-lawyers among us, it's important to realize that your billable hour requirement is irrespective of any life changes, holidays and vacation. So, for example, while you are technically allowed family time for maternity, funerals, etc., you must make that time up during the year (by adding it to existing days) or you will not hit your billable target. Not hitting your billables means you won't make partner (or get bonus - and you could get fired). This starts to make sense when you look at the numbers of women in partnership roles. It's not just an old boys' club. There's a real, practical reason why women struggle in the legal world in bigger firms: if you put your family first, for any reason, you will not be promoted. How many women do you know who are currently raising a family at an Am Law 200 firm as partner? I'll bet most of my readers don't know any… because they don't really exist. The numbers for female partners overall - Am Law 200 firms and under - with families and without - total about 17% inclusive.
April 18th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
This is exactly why it seems ridiculous when firms brag about giving associates “four weeks of vacation”–as if they could ever make up the time they did not bill during their absence.