Many
partners
at
law
firms
do
everything
they
can
to
increase
the
number
of
hours
billed
by
associates
since
this
has
a
substantial
impact
on
the
financial
health
of
a
firm. Unless
law
firms
have
explicit
incentive
systems
in
place,
partners
do
not
have
many
tools
at
their
disposal
that
they
can
use
to
convince
associates
to
bill
more
hours. At
some
of
the
shops
at
which
I
worked
before
opening
my
own
practice,
partners
explicitly
guilted
associates
into
billing
more
hours. Although
partners
may
believe
guilting
is
a
solid
tactic,
such
behavior
might
have
a
negative
impact
on
attorney
morale
and
may
not
result
in
associates
billing
more
time.
I
once
worked
at
a
law
firm
at
which
the
managing
partner
summoned
each
lawyer
who
billed
less
than
170
hours
the
preceding
month
into
his
office
for
a
talk. Sometimes,
the
managing
partner
asked
the
associate
if
the
firm
could
do
anything
to
help
them
increase
billing,
such
as
giving
the
associate
additional
work. This
was
generally
constructive
since
inefficiencies
at
a
law
firm
can
sometimes
result
in
low
billable
output,
and
it
is
helpful
when
management
attempts
to
make
associates
as
efficient
as
possible.
However,
at
other
times,
the
managing
partner
outright
guilted
associates
to
bill
more
time. Sometimes
the
managing
partner
would
tell
associates
that
they
billed
the
least
amount
of
hours
of
any
lawyer
at
the
firm
that
month
or
that
they
were
on
the
bottom
of
the
list
when
it
comes
to
billable
output. At
other
times,
the
partner
said
that
a
given
associate
at
the
firm
billed
250
hours
or
sometimes
even
more
the
preceding
month,
implying
that
if
the
other
attorney
could
bill
so
much
time,
the
offending
associate
had
no
excuse
not
to.
I
generally
did
not
react
well
to
such
tactics.
Other
associates
at
the
firm
had
similarly
negative
experiences. It
does
not
feel
good
to
be
told
that
you
are
at
the
bottom
of
the
list
when
it
comes
to
performance,
and
the
instinct
is
not
necessarily
to
increase
billing,
but
to
look
for
the
exits
at
that
law
firm
when
faced
with
such
a
conversation.
People
generally
do
not
want
to
work
at
a
shop
that
disrespects
them,
and
sometimes,
associates
might
feel
low
if
they
are
being
compared
to
other
attorneys
at
a
shop.
In
other
instances,
it
was
frustrating
when
partners
highlighted
the
billable
hours
of
associates
who
billed
an
insane
number
of
hours
a
month. Sometimes,
those
associates
billed
so
much
time
because
they
were
assigned
easier
matters
in
which
it
is
simple
to
bill
a
ton
of
hours
on
rote
tasks.
In
other
instances,
it
seemed
impossible
for
such
associates
to
bill
that
many
hours
if
they
were
completely
ethical
in
how
they
recorded
time,
and
it
is
insulting
and
demoralizing
when
partners
imply
that
associates
should
use
questionable
techniques
to
bill
a
larger
amount
of
hours
to
clients.
If
partners
really
want
to
incentivize
associates
to
bill
more
hours,
they
should
give
associates
financial
incentives
to
bill
more
time. At
one
firm
at
which
I
worked,
the
shop
had
a
bonus
system
that
rewarded
higher
amounts
of
billable
hours.
For
every
50
hours
beyond
2,000
hours
that
an
associate
billed
in
a
given
calendar
year,
the
associate
received
an
extra
bonus.
I
remember
one
year,
I
worked
hard
knowing
that
this
bonus
system
was
in
place,
and
I
received
a
large
bonus
since
I
was
able
to
bill
in
excess
of
2,200
hours
that
year. Everyone
wins
when
law
firms
institute
such
bonus
systems
since
law
firms
generally
receive
more
revenue
from
such
programs,
and
associates
reap
rewards
if
they
exceed
billable
expectations.
Of
course,
not
all
law
firms
have
the
resources
to
institute
productivity
bonuses,
and
other
law
firms
might
not
be
able
to
rely
on
routine
payment
of
invoices
to
make
such
programs
workable. However,
partners
should
recognize
that
guilting
lawyers
to
bill
more
hours
often
does
not
work
and
this
can
even
lead
to
more
inefficiencies
at
law
firms.
Jordan
Rothman
is
a
partner
of
The
Rothman
Law
Firm,
a
full-service
New
York
and
New
Jersey
law
firm.
He
is
also
the
founder
of
Student
Debt
Diaries,
a
website
discussing
how
he
paid
off
his
student
loans.
You
can
reach
Jordan
through
email
at
[email protected].