Lawyer thread

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by Jax Teller, Apr 8, 2015.

  1. Sammy Meatballs

    Sammy Meatballs DeBoer on the Floor
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    Don't you do plaintiffs work?
     
  2. DetroitNole

    DetroitNole Well-Known Member
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    Yea your paychecks are I'm sure quite a bit higher but I enjoy doing trials and having a work day that ends at 4:30
     
  3. Gallant Knight

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    I do plaintiffs work and we have to fill out on a sheet when we get to the office and when we leave
     
  4. Sammy Meatballs

    Sammy Meatballs DeBoer on the Floor
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    That's ridiculous.
     
  5. MORBO!

    MORBO! Hello, Tiny Man. I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!!
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  6. RJF-GUMP

    RJF-GUMP Daubert Qualified in Cooler Thermodynamics
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    Yah let's add more stress to a job that's already insanely stressful
     
  7. Tilly

    Tilly Souf Cack
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    My boss is big on face time while you're working. He likes to be able to talk face to face and markup paper copies. I prefer face to face and paper copies as well (fuck track changes), so it doesn't bother me.

    He's also very reasonable on time off, provided my stuff is done, there's nothing big going on, and I can still remote access my comp if need be.
     
  8. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
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    Yeah, that's pretty bad. I don't think requiring you to keep up with your time would be all that unreasonable, but doing it just to show you were at work is lame.
     
  9. RJF-GUMP

    RJF-GUMP Daubert Qualified in Cooler Thermodynamics
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    what does markup paper copies mean? What are you talking about with the reference to track changes?
     
  10. colonel_forbin

    colonel_forbin Well-Known Member
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    1. Editing paper copies of documents
    2. In Microsoft Word there is a function where you can edit a document and mark which changes you have made so whoever is reading the edited copy can see what changes were made by the editor.
     
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  11. Tilly

    Tilly Souf Cack
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    South Carolina Gamecocks

     
  12. Big Meech

    Big Meech I like turtles
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    7:30? Sheeeeiiiiitt. That's called an average Tuesday.
     
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  13. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    You guys work a hell of a lot more than I do. If I'm here at 6 pm something's up.

    Will have only my 3rd month of billing over 200 this month in almost 3 years, which is shitty. But preparing for a trial Aug 3.

    Taking Aug 19-31 off though, so it works itself out.
     
    #263 Nug, Jul 28, 2015
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2015
  14. MORBO!

    MORBO! Hello, Tiny Man. I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!!
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    I'm about to finish my 7th straight 200 hour month. Life is pain.
     
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  15. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    What do you usually bill per year?
     
  16. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
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    I am averaging 193 on the year, but that's with a 145 December and a 166 May. July is going to be 160ish because of vacation, so that average will drop some. I travel a decent amount, take a shit ton of depositions, and have tried several, so that makes the hours a lot easier. At my old firm, my best year was 1900, but that was all at a desk.
     
    #266 wes tegg, Jul 28, 2015
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2015
  17. MORBO!

    MORBO! Hello, Tiny Man. I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!!
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    Between 2200 and 2400. We hit our bonus at 2300.
     
  18. RJF-GUMP

    RJF-GUMP Daubert Qualified in Cooler Thermodynamics
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    oh yah I prefer to mark up paper copies. I hate reading off the computer too, especially long documents so I tend to print things a ton. Not good for saving money but its how I operate.
     
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  19. Magneto

    Magneto Thats right, formerly Don Brodka.
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    How do you bill out text messages from clients?
     
  20. Brandon Chicken

    Brandon Chicken Chow Time
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    That's rough. I'm always between 2000-2100. 85-90% at a desk so it gets old. Can't imagine billing over 2200 hours a year.
     
  21. Brandon Chicken

    Brandon Chicken Chow Time
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    Corr. w/ client re:...
     
  22. Magneto

    Magneto Thats right, formerly Don Brodka.
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    Do you bill each text message as an individual event, or look at the timestamp and Bill for the duration you communicated back and forth?
     
  23. Brandon Chicken

    Brandon Chicken Chow Time
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    I've never had that situation, but I would bill text messages the same as I do emails.
     
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  24. Magneto

    Magneto Thats right, formerly Don Brodka.
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    So each message would be an indivually separate billing item?

    That's how it was at my old firm did it, but honestly as the boss it seems disingenuous.
     
  25. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    This is me. I'll never get over 2200. I hover around 2100, +/- 50, and that generally includes a week+ vacation.

    Our bonus starts at 2000, and increases every 100 hours, so there's little incentive for me to go anything over 2100 unless I plan on hitting 2200, which is more work than it's worth to me.

    I billed like 2100.3 last year, plan on getting about the same this year.
     
  26. Brandon Chicken

    Brandon Chicken Chow Time
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    I guess it depends on the client. Some clients let you block bill, some don't. I personally wouldn't bill for each text I received. But, if I spent fifteen minutes or whatever texting with a client I don't see a problem with billing that time.

    Also, it's not disingenuous if you spent the time doing the work. It's the only way you make money.
     
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  27. Magneto

    Magneto Thats right, formerly Don Brodka.
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    That's how I feel. If I look at the timestamp and we spent 15 minutes texting back and forth, Bill for a quarter hour.
     
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  28. Big Meech

    Big Meech I like turtles
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    200 hours a month but not working past 6? You are exception at padding hours evidently.
     
  29. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    I've worked every weekend this month, including a full day this past Sunday. I rarely go over 200. I also get in before 7:30 pretty much every day.
     
  30. MORBO!

    MORBO! Hello, Tiny Man. I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!!
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    I work 8:30 to 7:00 most days. Not terrible. Sometimes I have to work a few hours on the weekends too though.
     
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  31. Sammy Meatballs

    Sammy Meatballs DeBoer on the Floor
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    That's about what I do, with some work on weekends thrown in. Weekends are mostly for finishing up motions that I can't get done during the normal work week.

    I don't have to bill or track hours though.
     
  32. CoastalOrange

    CoastalOrange Well-Known Member
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    My boss made clear to reiterate to me yesterday that he didn't jump ship to in-house to work 12 hour days and he would never expect that from me. #HumbleBrag
     
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  33. Tilly

    Tilly Souf Cack
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    Depends on the email/text with me. If a client texts or emails me for something that I know off the top of my head, I don't bill them for the 30 seconds it took to reply. If I have to look it up, I do bill.

    The only exception is when they start texting or emailing a good bit. Then I start billing because it can screw up my work flow and usually when they get a bill with ask those added up, the messages stop.

    I also think family law is a bit different with billing. Mandatory hourly rates, not form driven, and both parties are usually about to be worse off financially than before (ergo they scrutinize bills more). Just seems like a different animal, but I'm not familiar with other types of law, so maybe I'm off base.
     
  34. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
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    Deal with an insurance company... My time entries are convoluted as fuck because so many now use software that flags "dirty words" that they won't pay for.
     
  35. Tilly

    Tilly Souf Cack
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    Damn. Never heard of that. Care to give some examples?
     
  36. El Tiburon

    El Tiburon Well-Known Member
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    "Buttsex"
    "Client fisting"
    "Preparation for blumpkin"
     
    Tilly likes this.
  37. Tilly

    Tilly Souf Cack
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    South Carolina Gamecocks

    Investigation into witness background.

    Discuss client expectations and applicable law.

    Follow up with post trial matters with client and staff.
     
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  38. colonel_forbin

    colonel_forbin Well-Known Member
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    First year (and only) associate at a plaintiff's firm. No billable hours. I get to work at 6:45-7 am. I start actually doing work about 7:30-7:45 am. I leave about 5:15-5:30, but I'll stay until 6 about once a week. I bring my lunch and eat at my desk, so I don't take a lunch break. I'd say I average about 15 hours of weekend work a month, but I've done about 10-15 hours of work every other weekend over the past two months. The hours really aren't bad.
     
  39. New user

    New user Well-Known Member
    TMB OG

    I was at over 1350 hours through June. Will be a little over 200 this month.
     
  40. Ray McKigney

    Ray McKigney Feel my ubiquity
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    Yeah I deal with this too. I've learned never to use a semi colon in my narratives. Care to share some of the dirty words you can't use?
     
  41. Nug

    Nug MexicanNug
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    That's fucking absurd
     
  42. Bo Pelinis

    Donor TMB OG
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    No billable hours really is super, it seems.
     
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  43. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
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    Depends on the client, but these are the common ones: research, reviewed, correspondence, call, edit, filing, file, change, status, date, etc. They may still pay them, but you have to point out their error. It's better to just be a mawfuckin thesaurus on the front end.
     
    #293 wes tegg, Jul 28, 2015
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2015
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  44. Crepeswithasmile

    Crepeswithasmile Well-Known Member
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    any of you guys in the detroit area and deal with family law? my guy up there up and died on me, so i'm going to be needing someone else here pretty soon to do some child support/custody stuff.
     
  45. New user

    New user Well-Known Member
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    That's not straight billables. Counts pro bono and some "general administration" for travel when I spent 4 weeks in NYC over April-June and the client didn't pay for my travel time (which fucking sucks).

    But ya I've had a few 250+ months that had 230 or so billables.
     
  46. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
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    Still pretty damned good effort.
     
  47. Tilly

    Tilly Souf Cack
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    Lol. That's fucking absurd.
     
  48. Magneto

    Magneto Thats right, formerly Don Brodka.
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    I've never done insurance work, but that sounds a lot like just not wanting to pay for necessary work.
     
  49. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
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    That's pretty much exactly it. Some are worse than others, of course, but they generally want to streamline any process and reduce any reducible costs.
     
  50. MORBO!

    MORBO! Hello, Tiny Man. I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!!
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    I have a few LBR clients that will cut most of what you just posted and then some. Drives me nuts. I typically "plant" a few entries that I know will be cut just so that they don't go looking for valid entries when they see that they only cut like 1% of the bill. I'll usually add things like "Receipt and review of Notice of Hearing, check for legal conflicts, and diary same," which inevitably gets cut. Or if you use the word "scheduling" in any way in your entry, that will be cut as well. Even if it's "Correspond w/ client re: defensive strategy related to scheduling of medical evaluations to reduce overall exposure." CUTTTTTT. That's an administrative function!
     
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