If a Biglaw firm cares about something then there’ll be a way to bill for it. The billable hour is more than just a way for a firm to collect money owed to them (though obvi, it’s that too) but it’s also a way to track what their employees are actually doing with their time. Billable hours — particularly at firms that have hours requirements for bonuses — assign a clear value to the time and effort that went into a particular task. Now a Biglaw firm is saying diversity is something worthwhile and will be counted in billable hours.
Hogan Lovells just announced approved Diversity & Inclusion activities — up to 50 hours — will be billable and count toward bonus thresholds. And they’ve got a pretty thorough list of what counts toward the credit:
The D&I activities eligible for billable credit:
- Leading or organizing D&I events or diversity network initiatives.
- Recruiting underrepresented professionals to the firm.
- Mentoring or sponsoring underrepresented professionals.
- Participating in allyship and action-oriented D&I programs that extend beyond education.
- Preparing for and participating in client-related D&I activity.
- Additional activities to be approved on a case-by-case basis.
HoLove’s Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Bendita Cynthia Malakia, explained the firm’s thinking on expanding what’s billable in this manner:
“The rationale behind establishing billable D&I credit is twofold: to ensure our underrepresented colleagues are credited for disproportionately undertaking diversity and inclusion activities, and to incentivize all our people to undertake activities that enhance diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at the firm.”
And Susan Bright, Global Managing Partner for Diversity & Inclusion and Responsible Business, said:
“The introduction of D&I billable hour credit is part of our global strategy to create and maintain a diverse and inclusive working environment throughout our firm, and at the highest ranks. It also enables us to achieve our global minority and LGBT+ goals, and measure engagement at a substantive level. We recognize that diversity of all kinds creates better teams, and better serves our clients.”
The move to billable D&I hours is part of a larger diversity effort at the firm. They’ve previously announced concrete goals of 15 percent minority partners by 2025, 4 percent LGBT+ partners by 2025, and 30 percent women partners by 2022. Billable credit is a great way to make sure everyone at the firm is pulling toward these very important goals.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).