The Hours Open Thread: Mad Dash To Hit Your Hours Target for 2010

With just about six weeks to go in 2010, it’s time to check in on how people are doing with their billable hours.

At the start of the recession, hitting your hours could mean the difference between having a job and emailing Above the Law about stealth layoffs at your firm. This year, there hopefully isn’t that kind of pressure (at least not to the same degree). This year, hitting hours targets should be all about your bonus.

Of course, the difference in total compensation between a fourth-year associate who bills 1920 hours and a fourth-year who hits 2050 could be significant. The early buzz is that bonuses will be substantially bigger this year than last year, but the drop-off from one hours level to the next could be significant. Some firms might make bank-busting payments that will generate sweet headlines, but not all associates will hit the hours mark necessary for the top payment.

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Still, with a month and a half to go, there’s time to “juke your stats,” as they say on The Wire. If finding an extra 80 billables between Thanksgiving and Christmas makes a huge difference, clients should be prepared for their attorneys to drag out any assignments they get. Sorry clients, associates gotta eat too.

So how are people doing? Take our poll, and get a sense of how many hours your peers are on pace for….

When we ran this poll in June, 46% of you said that you were on pace to bill 2,000 hours or more. Does that still hold true? Let’s find out.