Is 1950 billable hours a lot?

Asked by: Ms. Eleonore Bartoletti  |  Last update: February 19, 2022
Score: 4.8/5 (21 votes)

In typical regional, national or international litigation firms it is simply not possible to work a 40 hour week and even stay employed, let alone advance. Typically firms require 2000 billable hours a year. Some lifestyle firms require less, like 1950 billable hours.

What is a lot of billable hours?

It's not a complicated equation – the more hours you bill, the more revenue for the firm. Firms “average,” “target” or “minimum” stated billables typically range between 1700 and 2300, although informal networks often quote much higher numbers.

Is 200 billable hours a month a lot?

200 hours is a fairly heavy month. For me, that would mean being at work about 50 hours a week - 8 to 6, and probably one weekend day or a couple of evenings amounting to 4 or 5 hours. Getting to 200 might be easier depending on the number of weekdays in the month.

How many hours should I bill a week?

As a general rule, if you bill between 36 and 40 hours in a week, you're likely going to be okay. Over the long run, the expectation is that you should be averaging 40 billable hours a week - assuming you have productive work to do.

How hard is it to bill 2000 hours?

For example, if you want to reach a goal of 2,000 hours annually, you would need to bill for roughly 40 hours each week, or eight billable hours a day. You may not work exactly eight hours each day, but this breaks down what you should average in a day, week, and month to reach your annual goal.

Episode 133 - The tyranny of billable hours

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How can I maximize my billable hours?

Tips to Maximize Your Law Firm's Billable Hours
  1. Minimum time increments.
  2. Record tasks as you complete them.
  3. Create a firm-wide time tracking policy.
  4. Increase your productivity.
  5. Complete billing descriptions.
  6. Delegate strategically.
  7. Track all time… billable and non-billable.
  8. Get to maximizing.

What happens if you don't meet your billable hours?

Associates who failed to meet their hours, regardless of the quality of their work, did not receive bonuses, suffered pay cuts, and were the first to be let go when layoffs were required. After all, all associates are expected to produce quality work.

Is 1750 billable hours a lot?

A. For many years the national norm for all firms has been around 1750 billable hours - much higher for litigation firms - often in the 1800-2000+ range. In my experience I find 1650-1700 a good target for most firms.

What percentage of hours should be billable?

For most service companies, 30 percent is considered a good efficiency rate, while 50 percent would deliver extremely efficient employee costing. That means out of eight hours, if a technician does approximately 2.4 hours of billable work per day, the billable hour percentage averages 30 percent.

How many hours a month should I bill?

A realistic billable hours minimum

I think, in a small-firm retail practice involving lots of clients getting billed each month, that you should expect a minimum of 100 hours per month (annualized) in billable work.

Is 2400 billable hours a lot?

Assuming an honest billable hour, a 2400 hour biller is almost certainly in the office until well past 10 PM every night and well before 9 AM every morning to permit enough time for non-billable activities such as filling out time sheets, calling a significant other to see if he/she still remembers your name, paying ...

What is Skadden known for?

Skadden is one of the most profitable and well-known law firms in the world. It was the first law firm to report $1 billion in annual revenue—now an industry brass ring.

What are Biglaw hours like?

According to a new survey conducted by Legal Cheek, associates in the London offices of U.S.-based Biglaw firms are working themselves to the bone, regularly averaging 12-hour days.

Why do Solicitors charge in 6 minute units?

As a basic starting point, as solicitors, we charge for our time. That is published as an hourly rate, but actually accrues, or builds up, in units of 6 minutes (known as “a unit”). The reason for this is that it is easier to monitor costs building up in hours that are divisible by 10.

How do lawyers keep track of billable hours?

As a lawyer, you have to understand how to bill time in a law firm. ... Billable hours are typically something the attorney keeps track of on their own and submits for approval before being passed on to the client. Typically, as an attorney, you keep track of these hours by writing them down. Then include a description.

What is the difference between billable and non-billable hours?

Billable hours represent the amount of time employees have spent on tasks that are invoiced to clients. Non-billable hours are the hours spent on tasks that don't get invoiced.

Do you get paid for non-billable hours?

Instead of thinking of non-billable hours as time you can't get paid for, you should think of it as an investment in your organization's future. You won't get paid directly for it, but the non-billable effort you put in now will help you increase profits and grow your business over time.

How important are billable hours?

Billable hours also help to avoid any possible misunderstanding with clients as the matter of who is doing what. Billing in such way helps to show what activities are being done under the scope of the project and, therefore, need to be paid for with the client's money.

What does 1800 billable hours look like?

To achieve 1,800 billable hours, an associate would work her “regular” hours plus an extra 20 minutes Monday through Friday, or work one Saturday each month from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The first option would give an attorney 1,832 billable hours, with a total of 2,430 hours spent “at work” (AKA: including ...

How many hours per week is 1700 billable hours?

I think a safe bet is to multiply your billable hour requirement by 1.5 and that provides a rough minimum amount of hours you will work (combines both downtime and efficiency). So 1700 x 1.5 = 2550 hour per year = 51 hours/week.

What are billable hours in law?

Billable hours are the most used by most private lawyers and law firms to calculate the value of their work, with clients being assessed "a set rate, plus expenses, for each hour that the lawyer — or those working with the lawyer — devote to the case".

How much should an associate bill?

But overall, 20% is the number I hear most often. At 20% you'll be profitable. It's a good number. This guideline meets the needs of the associate while also meeting the requirements of the law firm.

How can I be a good first-year associate?

  1. 11 survival tips for first-year associates. By Dustin M. ...
  2. Build trust and stay busy. ...
  3. Don't just identify problems; solve them. ...
  4. Don't get in your own way. ...
  5. Responsibility is joint and several liability. ...
  6. Manage difficult situations. ...
  7. Find a mentor. ...
  8. Build your professional network.

How do you bill like a lawyer?

Effective billing tips
  1. Detail, detail, detail! Provide detailed descriptions of billable items. ...
  2. Don't bill in blocks. Break down your tasks and avoid billing large blocks of time all at once. ...
  3. Enter your time often. Bill as you go or enter your time as frequently as possible. ...
  4. Use simple language.

What is a first-year associate?

A first-year associate is an entry level attorney who typically specializes in one area of law. Entry-level and first-year associates perform a variety of tasks under heavy supervision and should be familiar with standard legal concepts and procedures.