Billable Hours
-
Biglaw, Billable Hours, General Counsel, In-House Counsel, Partner Issues
Buying In: On the Inside
The Anonymous Partner discusses such topics as the billable hour and cross-selling -- with a former senior partner of a Biglaw firm and former general counsel of a major corporation. -
Bankruptcy, Benchslaps, Billable Hours, California, Drugs, Morning Docket, Ridiculousness, Sam Sparks, Sexism, Sports, Women's Issues
Morning Docket: 07.11.12
* Following yesterday’s hearing, Kleiner Perkins may be able to get a second bite at the proverbial apple after a judge tentatively denied the firm’s bid to arbitrate Ellen Pao’s gender discrimination suit. [The Recorder; Bits / New York Times]
* Ogletree Deakins has allegedly got 99 299 problems, and a b*tch ain’t one billing errors are all of ‘em. Arizona’s Maricopa County wants a refund, and it plans to debar the firm from additional work for the next three years. [ABA Journal]
* Not everything’s bigger in Texas: attorneys for Lance Armstrong have refiled a shorter version of his lawsuit against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency after suffering a brutal benchslap at the hands of Judge Sam Sparks. [Los Angeles Times]
* Screw your ban on non-lawyer investors, we’ll expand anyway! Jacoby & Meyers merged with Chicago’s Macey Bankruptcy Law to create a 300-attorney adventure in awful lawyer advertising. [National Law Journal]
* The bell has not yet tolled for Florida lawyer Frank Louderback, who will now be able to attend the 32nd Annual Ernest Hemingway Look-alike Contest thanks to his client’s last minute guilty plea. [Tampa Bay Times]
* “I don’t care what the law says, you’re getting a summons.” Sorry, officer, but you don’t mess with a Brooklyn Law student’s booze, because he’ll challenge New York’s open-container law. [City Room / New York Times]
- Sponsored
This AI-Powered Document Tool Will Meet You Where You Are
Lexis Create provides simple access to internal and external knowledge — directly within Microsoft Word. -
Bankruptcy, Benchslaps, Biglaw, Billable Hours, California, Celebrities, Defamation, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Drugs, FDA, Money, Morning Docket, Partner Issues, Pro Se Litigants, Sam Sparks, Sports
Morning Docket: 07.10.12
* Dewey know how many professional firms have been allowed to stay on as advisers for the largest law firm bankruptcy in U.S. history? Six out of nine firms were permitted to continue services, but Proskauer wasn’t one of them. [Am Law Daily (sub. req.)]
* In other defunct firm news, Al Togut will be presenting Dewey & LeBoeuf’s former partners with a proposed settlement on Wednesday. You’ve been warned: prepare yourselves for some Biglaw-style bitching. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]
* Despite reports of the billable hour going the way of the dodo bird, it looks like they’re here to stay. Right now, corporate law departments are still much more excited about alternative billing arrangements than law firms. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Judge Sam Sparks, the King of Benchslaps, dismissed Lance Armstrong’s lawsuit against the USADA in record time. That ruling came too quickly — guess it’s time to investigate judicial doping. [New York Times]
* Marc Dreier’s son, Spencer Dreier, is representing himself pro se in a defamation suit against his former college roommate. Looks like Daddy couldn’t spring for his kid’s lawyer while he was in the clink. [Bloomberg]
* A California woman claims that the Food and Drug Administration’s methods regarding sperm donations are unconstitutional. Why should she have to go to an intermediary to get sperminated? [Huffington Post]
* Do you smell what The Rock is cooking? It’s not exactly something to be proud of. Actor Dwayne Johnson is listed as a “co-conspirator” in a $1.8M fraud lawsuit that’s been filed by a South Florida family. [NBC Miami]
-
Billable Hours, Eric Holder, Google / Search Engines, Health Care / Medicine, Non-Sequiturs, Politics, YouTube
Non-Sequiturs: 06.20.12
* Hyper-competitive weekend warrior kills himself racing down a mountain path and his family is suing the internet start-up that makes an app that allows you to track your time against other users. Is anybody making an app to track really stupid lawsuits filed by bereaved family members who receive terrible legal advice during times of crisis? [Not-So Private Parts / Forbes] * The Fast and the Furious Legal Edition: Executive of Privilege. [WSJ Law Blog] * Bringing the billable hour to social media seems likely to make me cry. [Legal Cheek] * Former SCOTUS clerks think the individual mandate is done for. [Wonkblog / Washington Post] * Google threatens to bring the hammer down on YouTube to mp3 converter. [Torrent Freak] * Maybe this is the kind of alcohol you can buy with prestige points. [Urban Daddy] * The companies who will own the president if Romney wins. [USAToday] -
Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Billable Hours, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Dissolution, JPMorgan Chase, Money, Partner Issues, S.D.N.Y., Vicious Infighting
Dewey Have Some Pretty Expensive Bankruptcy Advisers? How Much Do They Charge?
How much are Dewey's bankruptcy lawyers and other advisers charging? And what else is going on in this epic law firm bankruptcy? -
Biglaw, Billable Hours, Lexis-Nexis, LexisNexis / Lexis-Nexis, Small Law Firms, Wall Street Journal
Size Matters: Billing Sucks, But Small-Firm Lawyers Need To Do It Better
While billing is an awful experience, small-firm attorneys need to do it better, according to columnist Valerie Katz. -
Associate Advice, Biglaw, Billable Hours, Boutique Law Firms, Small Law Firms
From Biglaw to Boutique: You Are Not Your Hours
You are a unique individual, with special attributes. You are not your billable hours. -
Biglaw, Billable Hours, Money, Partner Issues, Reader Polls
The Hours Results: A Return To Normalcy
How are associates' billable hours looking for 2012 up to this point? Partners may be pleased by these results. - Sponsored
How Generative AI Will Improve Legal Service Delivery
Learn how emerging tools will likely change and enhance the work of lawyers for years to come in this new report. -
Biglaw, Billable Hours, Money, Reader Polls
Associate Hours Open Thread: Did Your Puny Bonuses Result In A Work Slowdown?
How many hours are you on track to bill in 2012? Let us know -- and see where your peers are. -
9th Circuit, Bankruptcy, Baseball, Biglaw, Billable Hours, Brown Rudnick, California, Copyright, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Football, Gay Marriage, Health Care / Medicine, Insider Trading, Kasowitz Benson, Kathleen Sullivan, Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 06.05.12
* Dewey know the firms that have been tapped to represent the groups that this failed firm owes money to? Yes, we do! Brown Rudnick for the unsecured creditors’ committee, and Kasowitz Benson for the former D&L partners. [Am Law Daily (sub. req.)]
* The Ninth Circuit is supposed to be issuing an order today regarding an en banc reconsideration request on the Prop 8 case. They really ought to slap a big fat denial on that motherf’er and call it a day so we get some SCOTUS action. [Poliglot / Metro Weekly]
* Matthew Kluger, most recently of Fried Frank, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison, which is the longest sentence that anyone’s ever received in an insider trading case. Uh yeah, he’ll definitely be appealing. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]
* Hughes Hubbard & Reed has billed more than $17M in the first four months of its work on MF Global’s unwinding. Will the firm will be handing out spring “special” bonuses like they did last year? [Reuters]
* Mattel is appealing MGA’s $310M copyright award, claiming that the judgment was based on “erroneous billing invoices.” Don’t you call my billable hours into question, Kathleen Sullivan. [National Law Journal]
* Jerry Sandusky’s accusers will be named in court thanks to this judge’s ruling. But don’t worry — there’s no tweeting, texting, or emailing allowed in his courtroom. Like that’ll make a difference. [Legal Intelligencer]
* Trust me, I’m a lawyer: a disbarred Colorado attorney somehow managed to scam a convicted con artist out of more than $1 million. Now that’s some pretty sweet karmic intervention for you. [Missouri Lawyers Media]
* A bus driver is suing a hospital because he claims that instead of treating his painful erection, the staff watched a baseball game on TV. Whatever, that was a really great Yankees game. [Associated Press]
-
Associate Bonus Watch 2011, Biglaw, Billable Hours, Bonuses, Gay, Gay Marriage, Litigators, Money
Where My Boies At? Some Wonder About April Bonuses at Boies Schiller
Some associates at Boies Schiller are wondering about missing or smaller April bonus payments. What's going on? -
Adoption, Biglaw, Billable Hours, Gay, Perks / Fringe Benefits, Travel / Vacation
A Biglaw Firm Institutes A Smaller Hours Requirement
One Biglaw firm is actually lowering its hours requirement. And instituting a new adoption / surrogacy benefit too. Could these trends spread? -
Biglaw, Billable Hours, Crowell & Moring, Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day: The Way of the Future
A Biglaw partner says the billable hour's halcyon days may be numbered...
Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
How Generative AI Will Improve Legal Service Delivery
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Sponsored
This AI-Powered Document Tool Will Meet You Where You Are
Profit Powerhouse: Elevating Law Firm Financial Performance
-
Biglaw, Billable Hours
How Many Billable Hours Do You Have to Work Before You Are 'Busy'?
This is how a law firm tries to manage your time... -
American Bar Association / ABA, Biglaw, Billable Hours, Christopher Christie, Law Schools, Money, Morning Docket, Murder, New Jersey, Prostitution, Southern New England School of Law/Umass
Morning Docket: 04.16.12
* * The harsh realities of post-recession practice: will Biglaw leaders have to resort to alternative billing practices in order to survive? Well, they better, or else they’re “not going to have a law firm for very long.” [Washington Post]
* I don’t think “secret service” means what you think it means. Listen up, agents, prostitution might be legal in much of Columbia, but it makes America look bad when you can’t afford a $47 hooker. [New York Post]
* Jessica Recksiedler, the judge assigned to oversee George Zimmerman’s case, may have a conflict of interest thanks to her husband. Somebody’s getting banished from the bedroom this week. [Bloomberg]
* Law firms with ties to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie have seen record profits compared to their take under Jon Corzine’s rule. That said, even if he called them “idiots,” it was totally worth it. [Star-Ledger]
* UMass Law is being reviewed for accreditation by the American Bar Association, and opponents are throwing some major shade. As if Dean Ward’s scandalous resignation wasn’t enough. [South Coast Today]
* Is this house haunted as a matter of law? That’s what this New Jersey couple is hoping that a judge will say about their rental home. Hey, it wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened in the tri-state area. [ABC News]
-
Billable Hours, Money, Small Law Firms
The Practice: When Things Are Slow
Columnist Brian Tannebaum has some advice for small-firm attorneys experiencing slow months at work. -
Biglaw, Billable Hours, Britney Spears, Celebrities, Copyright, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Divorce Train Wrecks, General Counsel, john quinn, Morning Docket, Pornography, Sex Scandals, United Kingdom / Great Britain, William Burck
Morning Docket: 04.09.12
* The billable hour may be far from dead, but last year, 61% of general counsel worked out alternative fee arrangements with outside counsel, including counsel from elite (read: Biglaw) firms. [Wall Street Journal]
* Dewey need to take lessons on revenge from this firm? John Altorelli, the D&L defector who spilled all the beans to the Am Law Daily, was blasted on Page Six this weekend. More on this to come later today. [New York Post]
* CHECK YOU LATERALS: recent Quinn Emanuel hires William Burck, Paul Brinkman, and Andrew Schapiro, as well as name partner John Quinn, have entered appearances on behalf of Megaupload. [Am Law Daily]
* Copyright infringement suits over porn downloading involving some 3,500 defendants were dismissed because the plaintiffs’ attorney, Terik Hasmi, couldn’t get it in legally in Florida. [National Law Journal]
* In England, there’s no such thing as a no-fault divorce, but instead, you can get one for “unreasonable behavior” — behavior like malicious service of tuna casserole, and speaking only in Klingon. [New York Times]
* This gives “I’m a Slave 4 U” some new meaning. Britney Spears’s fiancé, Jason Trawick, is trying to start their impending rocky marriage off on the right foot. He’ll soon be her co-conservator. [New York Daily News]
-
Billable Hours, Boutique Law Firms, Money, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners
From Biglaw to Boutique: Beyond the Math
If you're currently working for a big law firm, should you start your own firm to make more money? Well, not so fast.... -
Biglaw, Billable Hours, Kids, Partner Issues, Partner Profits
Married to the Firm: Partners Act Like My Kids
What is it like being married to a man who's married to his firm? A Biglaw spouse tells all.... -
Biglaw, Billable Hours, Old People
Why Americans Need to Work Less (Lawyers, You Too)
This is America. We are always connected, always on call, and ignoring your BlackBerry for more than 90 minutes is a firing offense. It wasn't always this way. And there are some heretics among us who make a compelling case for a return to the 40-hour work week. Before you shoot the scruffy Californian, hear me out....