Not Many Interested in Making Partner

The culture of the big firm is changing. No longer do attorneys go in with goals of making partner. It is getting more common for people to see their time in the big firms as temporary and a springboard to a more life-friendly career. In the article, Midlevel Survey Shows Associates Eyeing the Door, this seemed right on with the way we see things in my home:

...A close parsing of the numbers reveals that although most associates think they could make partner, they're not sure they want to. For one thing, they see some junior partners working even more ferocious hours than their own. "There have been times when I have been watching a movie late at night that I've gotten an e-mail from a partner," says a Latham and Watkins third-year who, like the other respondents quoted here, spoke on a confidential basis. Adds a Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner midlevel: "When you see how many hours [junior partners] put in, you realize there really is no end to it."

Associates also have picked up on the fact that partners now are expected to be more than just good lawyers; they're also expected to be business builders, who had better keep pushing if they want to retain their partnership status. "Partnership is no longer the lifetime guarantee that maybe it once was," says one Dechert associate, who notes that de-equitizations and layoffs that have become part and parcel of the business of law. Says one Arnold & Porter third-year: "This is not the sort of place where once you become a partner you sit back and ride the gravy train." Indeed, according to associates contacted for this story, that sort of place is hard (or even impossible) to find anywhere in The Am Law 200 nowadays...

You know you work in a law firm if...

Inspired from an email forward from R's secretary:

1. Your resume is on a diskette in your pocket.

2. It's dark when you drive to and from work.

3. When your boss says, " We have a brief we need to file tomorrow - I need you here early." It means: "Come in early, wait all day, skip lunch and plan to stay late because I won't give you the first draft until 3:30 pm and we really have until the last Federal Express leaves the airport to get it out."

4. You can name the contents of the vending machine in order from top to bottom.

5. Your office closes for a holiday and all you can think about is the hours you'll have to make up for taking that day off.

6. The fire alarm goes off in the building, and no one in your office moves.

7. Your biggest loss from a system crash is that you lose your best jokes.

8. Salaries of the Partners are higher than all the Third World countries' annual budgets combined.

9. Free food left over from meetings is your main staple.

10. You're already late on the work task you "just" got.

11. You get just about all of the above.

The Blackberry Leash

In reading this article from WSJ's The Juggle, I thought about those weekend requests for work and how difficult it can be to say no. It sounds easy enough, just tell the partner you already have plans. Sometimes that's not difficult, but other times we have to worry about how it might affect his job. With the economy falling, and layoffs in the news, it's easy to feel like one wrong answer could be the end of your job.

In the comments I saw several people referring to a requirement by their firms for a Blackberry. This wasn't really a requirement at our firm as much as an expectation --You don't have a Blackberry?!-- And I have to agree with the commenter that referred to it as a Crackberry. It is like a drug that has a hold on you at all times. Every time he hears the buzz, that thing comes out of it's holster and there's always the wonder what kind of bad news this could be. However, for me it feels more like a leash. Even when you feel like you've got the freedom to roam and go home "early" there's always the chance that you'll get yanked back to your owner.

R is in a good place right now as far as hours go, in fact this last week has been great. He has been home before dinner several times and I am appreciating every minute, but trying not to get used to it.

Which Would You Pick?

This joke was forwarded to me and I loved it:

One day while walking down the street a highly successful attorney was tragically hit by a bus and died. Her soul arrived up in heaven where she was met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter himself. "Welcome to Heaven," said St. Peter. "Before you get settled in though, it seems we have a problem. You see, strangely enough, we've never once had an attorney make it this far and we're not really sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," said the woman.

"Well, I'd like to, but I have higher orders. What we're going to do is let you have a day in Hell and a day in Heaven and then you can choose whichever one you want to spend an eternity in."

"Actually, I think I've made up my mind, I prefer to stay in Heaven", said the woman.

"Sorry, we have rules..."

And with that St. Peter put the executive in an elevator and it went down-down-down to hell.

The doors opened and she found herself stepping out onto the putting green of a beautiful golf course. In the distance was a country club and standing in front of her were all her friends - fellow executives that she had worked with and they were well dressed in evening gowns and cheering for her. They ran up and kissed her on both cheeks and they talked about old times. They played an excellent round of golf and at night went to the country club where she enjoyed a delicious steak and lobster dinner.

She met the Devil who was actually a really nice guy (kind of cute) and she had a great time telling jokes and dancing. She was having such a good time that before she knew it, it was time to leave. Everybody shook her hand and waved goodbye as she got on the elevator.

The elevator went up-up-up and opened back up at the Pearly Gates where she found St. Peter waiting for her.

"Now it's time to spend a day in heaven," he said. So she spent the next 24 hours lounging around on clouds and playing the harp and singing. She had a great time and before she knew it her 24 hours were up and St. Peter came and got her.

"So, you've spent a day in hell and you've spent a day in heaven. Now you must choose your eternity."

The woman paused for a second and then replied, "Well, I never thought I'd say this, I mean, Heaven has been really great and all, but I think I had a better time in Hell."

So St. Peter escorted her to the elevator and again she went down-down-down back to Hell.

When the doors of the elevator opened she found herself standing in a desolate wasteland covered in garbage and filth. She saw her friends were dressed in rags
and were picking up the garbage and putting it in sacks.

The Devil came up to her and put his arm around her.

"I don't understand," stammered the woman, "yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and a country club and we ate lobster and we danced and had a great time. Now all there is a wasteland of garbage and all my friends look miserable."

The Devil looked at her, smiled and said...

"Yesterday we were recruiting you, today you're an Employee.... !!"

Thoughtful Valentine Wishes

As a kid I loved playing Mad Libs on long family trips. What better way to get a laugh than to stick words like “toot” or “snorkel” in a random story? With these easy forms from the Bureau of Communication, now you can fill in the blanks for even personal and social obligations. So as soon as you finish revising that incredibly important contract, send a note to that special someone!

Dare To Dream

I found this interesting article in the New York Times by Lisa Belkin stating that firms are starting to soften on billable requirements. I haven't seen it yet, but I hope she's right and a new work philosophy is emerging.

... lawyers are overworked, depressed and leaving.

...So far the change — which includes taking fresh looks at the billable hour, schedules and partnership tracks — is mostly at the smaller firms. But even some of the larger, more hidebound employers are taking notice.

“There are things happening everywhere, enough to call it a movement,” said Deborah Epstein Henry, who founded Flex-Time Lawyers,... “The firms don’t think of it as a movement, because it is happening in isolation, one firm at a time. But if you step back and see the whole puzzle, there is definitely real change.”

Last month, Ms. Henry’s ambitious proposal was published in the magazine Diversity and the Bar. Her plan, called FACTS, takes on law-firm bedrock — billable hours, which are how lawyers have calculated their fees for more than 50 years.

At nearly every large American firm, lawyers must meet a quota of hours. During the ’60s and ’70s, the requirement was between 1,600 and 1,800 hours a year or about 34 hours a week, not counting time for the restroom or lunch or water cooler breaks. Today that has risen to 2,000 to 2,200 hours, or roughly 42 hours a week. (Billing 40 hours a week means putting in upward of 60 at the office.)

FACTS is an acronym. Under Ms. Henry’s proposal, work time can be: Fixed (allowing lawyers to choose less high-profile work for more predictable schedules), or Annualized (intense bursts of high-adrenaline work followed by relative lulls); Core (with blocks mapped out for work and for commitments like meeting children at the bus); Targeted (an agreed-upon goal of hours, set annually, customized for each worker, with compensation adjusted accordingly); and Shared (exactly as it sounds).

Ms. Henry’s proposal came at the end of last year, when firms had already started backing away from the billable hour. Some have gone so far as to eliminate it. The Rosen law firm in Raleigh, N.C., ...did so this year, instead charging clients a flat fee.

Similarly, Dreier, a firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles, now pays its lawyers salaries and bonuses based on revenue generation, not hours billed.

...A group of students at Stanford Law School, ...shook up the legal world in 2006 when they formed Law Students Building a Better Legal Profession. The Stanford group has more than 130 members, and other elite schools like Yale and New York University have formed chapters. The Stanford organization has published a ranking of firms based on how they treat employees; members vow not to work for those who don’t rate well...

Algebra

y = 230 (hours billed for January)

x = 12 (months in a year)

(y)(x) = 2,760 hours billed

billing hour requirement for 2008 = 2,000

2760-2000= 760 extra hours

Here's hoping all months aren't like January!

Right to Bear Arms

My husband has this t-shirt and we think it's so great. I thought you all might appreciate it. So clever and... ok, maybe a little dorky too.

When Will You Be Home?

It was a Saturday afternoon and Daddy had been working at the firm for several hours. The kids and I decided to head to the park around 4:30 and one of them called Daddy to see if he might be able to meet us there. He told them that he still had an hour left at work and wouldn't be able to go. Bummer. But we went to the park anyway and the kids had a fun time playing together for about 45 minutes.

It was then that one of my children told me they had to go potty. I started to scan for one and didn't see anything. By then it was too late and the deed had been done. So that signaled the end of playtime, and since it was already dark we piled in the mini van and headed for home. As we pulled into the driveway it was almost 6:00 and no sign of Daddy's car. The kids started in with, "Hey, Daddy said he would be home by now! Mom, why isn't Daddy home? He said he would be done in an hour!...(etc. etc.) " I hate having to be the one to answer these questions and give excuses for him, but I answered with my old standards: "something must have come up that he wasn't expecting... he'll be home soon... things usually take longer than Daddy thinks..."

I got the offending potty child in the shower and cleaned up and by then it was 6:15. I usually try to be supportive and understanding about the demands of the job, but after this experience I called up Daddy at work and said in an extremely annoyed voice, "You told the kids you would be home at 5:30. What happened?" He of course replied in a patient tone that he was doing his best to get home and just had to finish up one more thing. He then offered to pick up dinner on the way home because he is a good husband. I said with all the gruff sincerity I could muster, "That would be great." And then set to getting the rest of the children showered and tubbed before he arrived home with our bedtime dinner.

At 7:15 Daddy walked in the door with bags of tacos as the hero of the day. The kids jumped up and yelled "Daddy!" as they ran to hug him. We ate our dinner together and it turned out to be a pleasant evening after all. However, I did warn him that the next time one of the kids calls and asks what time he'll be home from work, please guess high and then add 30-60 minutes onto that guess.

Lawyer Coloring Book

So your kid wants to be a lawyer when they grow up? This coloring book may be just what you need to encourage their dream... Or maybe discourage their dream. I love this!

Everyone's A Winner

Nixon Peabody was named one of the best places to work by Fortune Magazine, so they had a song written about how wonderful they are. When it was made public, instead of laughing at themselves for this silly anthem, they started making a fuss about copyright law and "lawyered up." I thought the song was so funny. Some people have no sense of humor!

Living With Daddy, Esq.

Our nine year old son decided that he would like to start a "business." He read an article in a magazine about a boy that maintained vending machines and it seemed like the perfect fit. He has always had that entrepreneurial spirit, and this would combine his two great loves: selling and candy. Unfortunately a professional looking vending machine costs more money than a nine year old boy has sitting in his Bat Man money safe, so he asked how he could get the money to buy one. I wanted to instill in him a sense of ownership and responsibility for his new business venture, so I suggested he take out a loan... from me. I wanted to also teach him about paying back credit and money management. So it seemed like a binding contract would let him experience how the financial world works.

Lucky for me my attorney husband can whip out a contract in his sleep, so I outlined the conditions I wanted in it and he set to work (pro bono!). He wrote it up with all of his Daddy and lawyerly flair, suppressing all of those instincts to fill it with law vocabulary and provisions. Then we reviewed it carefully together and answered all of H’s questions about it. H and I approved the agreement, signed it, and the contract was complete.

He bought the candy machine, filled it with M&Ms, and got permission to place it in the snack room at the firm. I'm sure there will be plenty of late nights where somebody will be dying for a handful of M& Ms, so I'm anticipating his business will be a raging success!

Balancing Raises and Layoffs

As you may know there have been many raises this year given out in response to the big law firms that are trying to establish themselves as superior. Of course nobody wanted to be left behind, so it lead to a domino effect of raises throughout the industry. But will those who have been seen as "big" be able to keep up?

Cadwalader has just laid off 35 of its associates. They have five offices in New York, London, Washington, Beijing, and Charlotte. They are by no means small potatoes. So what do you think? Are there more layoffs to follow?

Letter of Resignation

What many Big Law attorneys want to say, but never would-- unless they're leaving law:

How 'Bout Those Billables?

The billing year ended for us on December 31st. There were several months this year that were slow, and R worried that his average billable hours were a bit below his goals. This year we learned that it all catches up to you, so in 2008 the slow months will be enjoyed more. He reached his minimum hours and went way beyond them. December proved to be the busiest month of the year, with R billing 250 hours! That's 62.5 hours per week of billable time, and then there is the unbillable office time... Unbelievable considering this is the month that is traditionally a big vacation time. Not for us this year. R had Christmas Day off and New Years Day off and those were so much fun. We all love having Daddy around whenever we can, but especially on the holidays!

Billable hours have always been so illogical to me. It seems that they aren't in the attorney's favor, the firms, or the clients. There is no incentive for the attorney to work quickly or improve their efficiency because there is a minimum hour requirement by the firm that must be reached in order to keep your job and get any kind of bonus. So an attorney that stays late for four hours and works their tail off to finish a job gets paid the same as another one that lazily works through something and gets home in time for dinner. I know it's not as simple as that because lack of a work ethic is something that can lose you your job pretty quickly. But I have frustrations with the system...

I found this interesting article from the ABA Journal, The Billable Hour Must Die on the subject and agree with Scott Turow's synopsis in the final paragraph: "If I had only one wish for our profession from the proverbial genie, I would want us to move toward something better than dollars times hours. We have created a zero-sum game in which we are selling our lives, not just our time. We are fostering an environment that doesn’t provide the right incentives for young lawyers to live out the ideals of the profession. And we are feeding misperceptions of our intentions as lawyers that disrupt our relationships with our clients. Somehow, peo­ple as smart and dedicated as we are can do better."