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[T]he problems that can accompany billable hour requirements are tractable and avoidable. Transparency is an indispensable baseline to making the billable hour work well. Law firms must be clear about expectations—the real ones. State them up front. Better yet, provide current and historical statistics such as average hours worked per lawyer per week, month, and year, ideally by office location, department, and seniority. In the absence of firms standing by publicized expectations, this data would provide a window into any divergence between stated requirements and reality.
— Members of the American Lawyer’s Young Lawyer Editorial Board, writing about the need for Biglaw firms to honestly disclose incoming associates’ “real” billable hour requirements (i.e., not just the bare minimum that’s required to keep their jobs, but what’s actually expected to maintain bonus eligibility and partnership consideration).
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.