The Top 10 Time Sucks Of Small Firm Practice

There’s a certain number of hours a day SmallLaw attorneys have to bill, and these are usually the things that will keep them from billing the time they need to.

How is it 4 p.m. already and I haven’t billed any hours? Too often I find myself asking that question. The SmallLaw flexibility is enticing. I can finally run errands in the middle of the day without having to tiptoe back into the office. I can start work whenever I want from wherever I want. But, if I’m not careful and I let the day fill up, I won’t have any time to bill and pretty soon I’ll be back pounding the pavement, talking to recruiters, and reading career articles on Business Insider. There’s a certain number of hours a day SmallLaw attorneys have to bill, and while it’s not near as many as Biglaw associates bill, SmallLaw folks have a lot more balls in the air (yep, it’s true). There are only so many non-work items that can fit in. In the year and a half I’ve had my own practice, these have been my top 10 time sucks.

1. Afternoon coffee. It’s easy to look at my calendar and think, sure, I’m free for coffee with an old friend or fellow attorney at 3 p.m. on Thursday the 22nd. Then Thursday the 22nd rolls around and at 2:30 I’m trying to get a document out to a client by 5 p.m. and am regretting ever putting a 3 p.m. coffee on my schedule. It only took a year for me to learn the lesson that it’s best to turn as many coffee invitations into lunches as possible. (After all, I have to eat lunch anyway.) Especially if I have to travel to another part of town to meet the person. [Note: Obviously, if a prospective client is insisting on an afternoon coffee, I’m going to agree to it.]

2. Morning or (even worse) all-day CLEs. Much better to get in those CLE credits in the evening as much as possible. Daytime should be for billing.

3. Gym during work hours. It’s nice to have the freedom to go during the day, but a 45-minute lunchtime spin class can easily zap a couple of hours when you count going to the gym, showering, and grabbing a bite to eat on the way back. (Of course, since I’m a solo — for now — and have an office to myself, I suppose I could forgo that shower and no one would be the wiser.)

4. Daily legal newsletters. This morning I counted how many I get: eight (!). On a normal day, two out of the eight will have something halfway interesting in the subject line that will spur me to read part of an article. Staying on top of legal industry developments seems worthwhile, but why do I feel like I didn’t miss anything during the three weeks I was in Argentina?

5. Facebook. Back during the days I had a boss, I once had a desk right in front of my boss’s office. One day she said loudly, clearly and firmly, “Get off of Facebook, and start doing work.” Turned out she was talking on the telephone to her teenage son. Whew.

6. Gmail/Messenger/LinkedIn inbox, and all other non-work accounts. Three times a day is probably a good rule of thumb (morning, mid-day, end of workday). So far I’ve managed to get it down to 17 times a day.

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7. Somebody else’s recurring community service project. We all have our preferred ways to give back. The problem is when I get roped into someone else’s preferred way to give back, and it turns into a continuous time suck I can’t shake. I once let someone talk me into tutoring once a week, which was okay, I guess — my student could have been a poster child for Ritalin, and I don’t think anything I said stuck with her for more than 30 seconds, including my name — but it took up two and a half hours every Thursday morning, and invariably while I was tutoring, some client crisis had arose and I’d have to play catch-up the rest of the day. My weekday community service project is fine. Someone else’s? Not so much.

8. Hot tubs. Fun, but until I get one in my office, they’re a real time suck. (Though naturally, if I’m wooing hearing officers, I’ll go for it, but in that case, I would definitely be billing clients.)

9. Breakfast meetings that last past 10:30 a.m. That torpedoes the morning. Even if on a normal day I don’t start billing until 10:30 or so anyway, when I finally do get to the office after the meeting, I’ll still want to do my morning routine of emails, ProFootballTalk, and the New York Times, so it could be noon before I really start billing, and then before too long it’s time for lunch.

10. Writing a weekly column for a legal blog. I was seduced by the prospect of fortune & glory.


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Gary J. Ross opened his own practice, Jackson Ross PLLC, in 2013 after several years in Biglaw and the federal government. Gary handles corporate and compliance matters for investment funds, small businesses, and non-profits, occasionally dabbling in litigation. You can reach Gary by email at Gary.Ross@JacksonRossLaw.com.