Breaking Legal News & Current Law Headlines | Daily Legal Briefing
  • Home
  • Hot Topics
  • Breaking
  • Business
  • Big Law
  • Small Law
  • Law School
  • Legal Tech
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Breaking Legal News & Current Law Headlines | Daily Legal Briefing
No Result
View All Result
Home Big Law

Top 50 Biglaw Firm Ups Their Billable Hours Requirement, Sparking Ire Among Associates

Daily Legal Briefing by Daily Legal Briefing
February 10, 2023
in Big Law
0
Top 50 Biglaw Firm Ups Their Billable Hours Requirement, Sparking Ire Among Associates
4
SHARES
32
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Close-up of an alarm clock on American bank notesBiglaw firms are anticipating an economic slump. We know that because of the layoffs at Shearman and Cooley and Goodwin and Gunderson and Kirkland. And, short of that step, firms are tightening of the purse strings, making it more difficult for associates to earn their full market bonus.

Now comes word that another Biglaw firm is changing course on associate bonuses. Perkins Coie, a firm that made $1,155,565,000 in gross revenue in 2021, making it 42nd on the Am Law 100, told associates the billable hours requirement to get their full bonus is going up. It’s being bumped up from 1950 hours to 2000, but the kicker is it’s for the current year. At Perkins, the financial year begins in October. So associates were nearly 5 months into the year when new criteria got dumped on them.

A tipster shared the following image from the firm’s announcement:

Screen Shot 2023-02-09 at 9.01.12 AM

So you can see the firm is asking for an additional 50 client billable hours per associate. If the associate is unable to hit that target (seeing as they found out about it ~5 months into the year), then they’ll only get half of their bonus.

As you might imagine, tipsters from inside the firm are reporting anger at the situation, with one saying, “Every associate is livid.” Another described the firm’s messaging of the change as putting the blame on associates who want market compensation:

The entire conversation was very uncomfortable. Firm leadership blamed associates for the change. They said that this was because they raised our salaries. They were asked if they would raise our billables again and the firm would not give a straight answer. They claimed they were doing this to match our competitors.

Another insider said folks at the firm see this as a prelude to even more severe cost-saving measures:

At PC, junior associates have their annual reviews in the spring. Many associates believe that placing the blame on us (blaming the us for the salary increasing without mentioning inflation, saying that the extra hours are “barely” more than an extra hour per week, essentially saying there’s no reason associates shouldn’t hit their hours because there’s “so many resources” to hit the hours without recognizes that some groups are slow, saying they will be pulling our hours every month and having conversations with people who aren’t hitting monthly targets) is just preparing to put the blame on us when they do layoffs this spring after reviews.

And associates are saying this change will permanently alter the firm’s culture: “Associates were very upset that our laid back culture is changing.”


Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. 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 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.


Bonus Time

Enter your email address to sign up for ATL’s Bonus & Salary Increase Alerts.






Click to Read Original Article

Previous Post

Looking Ahead: How Will Generative AI And ChatGPT Impact Legal Departments In 2023?

Next Post

Cybersecurity Incident Shuts Down Biglaw Network

Daily Legal Briefing

Daily Legal Briefing

The latest breaking legal news from across World all in one place.

Related Posts

New York’s Biglaw Firms Really Flopped Financially Last Year
Big Law

New York’s Biglaw Firms Really Flopped Financially Last Year

by Daily Legal Briefing
April 1, 2023
Jean-Jacques Rousseau And The Law Firm Of The Future
Big Law

Decades Of Impenetrable Walls Of Text

by Daily Legal Briefing
April 1, 2023
Rut-Roh: Biglaw Profits Per Equity Partner Are Down For The First Time In A While
Big Law

This Biglaw Firm’s Finances Suffered In 2022, But It’s ‘Nothing Fatal’

by Daily Legal Briefing
March 31, 2023
It’s Getting Expensive In-House…
Big Law

Biglaw Firm’s Expansion Plan Behind Its Uptick In Revenue

by Daily Legal Briefing
March 30, 2023
Biglaw High-Yield Bond Practices Experiencing ‘Painful Period’ Thanks To Recessionary Market
Big Law

Biglaw Firm’s Reliance On Capital Markets And M&A Responsible For Its Financial Decline

by Daily Legal Briefing
March 30, 2023
Next Post
Massive EDiscovery Provider Shut Down Over ‘Unauthorized Access’

Cybersecurity Incident Shuts Down Biglaw Network

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Premium Content

New prosecutors reopen investigations into deadly police shootings

New prosecutors reopen investigations into deadly police shootings

December 3, 2021
Law School Would Really Like To Be Rid Of Genocider’s Name

Descendants Of Serranus Hastings Sue To Keep Name Of Genocider On Law School

October 5, 2022
Salary Wars Heat Up As Am Law 100 Firm Gets In On The Associate Raise Action

Going Deeper Than Just Biglaw Revenue Numbers

June 4, 2022

Browse by Category

  • Big Law
  • Breaking
  • Business
  • Hot Topics
  • Law School
  • Legal Tech
  • Small Law

About US

Breaking Legal News & Current Law Headlines | Daily Legal Briefing.
Online coverage of breaking legal news and current law headlines from around the US. Top stories, videos, insight, and in-depth analysis.

Categories

  • Big Law
  • Breaking
  • Business
  • Hot Topics
  • Law School
  • Legal Tech
  • Small Law

Recent Updates

  • Digital Marketing Agency Horror Stories
  • New York’s Biglaw Firms Really Flopped Financially Last Year
  • The Legal and Ethical Implications of Workplace Vaccine Mandates

© 2021 Daily Legal Briefing | Breaking Legal News & Current Law Headlines

No Result
View All Result
  • Contact Us
  • Home

© 2021 Daily Legal Briefing | Breaking Legal News & Current Law Headlines

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?