Billables

I just looked up from my desk and realized that months have passed.  It is now April.  I can’t help but ask–where has the time gone–where have I been all this time?  Have you seen me around at all?  Do I have a glazed look in my eye? 

I’m pretty sure there was a holiday in there somewhere–and I vaguely remember celebrating a birthday at some point.   My eyesight is getting worse–I can’t even see my monitor without my glasses on.  I have a tremendous headache–maybe if I try to stop scrunching up my forehead I’ll feel better.  

The things in my life that should be in sharp focus seem swallowed up in a pea soup blanket of mist.  So…confused. 

And then it hits me.  I keep track of my life somewhere.  I record my time.  Almost every single minute of every single day is catalogued.  I look back.  DTE explains a lot.  I know where I have been.  I’ve been right here.  Billing time.  Working working working. 

Do you find yourself thinking in six minute increments?  Do you find yourself working that much longer to make your hours–even when staying at the office is not an absolute necessity?  What came first–the chicken or the egg?  Are we workaholics by nature or the billable hour the root of all evil?  Can we blame the billable hour on the shameful lack of women partners in law firms?  Hmmmm–can’t make partner unless you bill a certain number of hours every year.  Can we blame the billable hour for the doc review sweatshops so many of our bretheren are experiencing?    I know where my suspicions lie.    I think law students should learn about DTE in law school.  Part of your grade should be determined by how many billable hours you spent studying and working on assignments. 

I just googled “pressure of the billable hour.”  I found a blog called the Blawgraphy that has a great analysis of the billable phenomenon–along with a brief history, as well as some great links.

If the Philadelphia lawyer is having any issues at all–the culprit is the billable hour. 

Come on folks, its Friday night–you shouldn’t be in the office.

 

New Job

I forgot how difficult it is starting a new job.  I barely know where the bathroom is or how the firm document management system works.  I think there is a file room around somewhere…?? The most difficult thing for me right now is figuring out who I am working for.  And I don’t just mean that I don’t know which partners I’ll be working with–I mean–I don’t know their way of doing things.  Do they expect final briefs or is it acceptable to send a work in progress and ask for comments?  Are there any partners that might  get annoyed at me for asking questions?  Which people prefer e-mail to visitors chair chats? I’m hoping I figure it out–and soon.  I just want to achieve some sort of comfort level–  Did I mention that I am exhausted?  This is tiring stuff, folks.  I’m pooped–drained–beat—- But certainly not bested. On second thought–maybe I am bested–I think I’m even too tired for cocktails tonight.

Jobby Job (or Strict Scrutiny)

Looking for a new job is one of the most unpleasant experiences I have ever had.   I find the whole process distasteful.  How does one capture a potential employer’s attention in a one page cover letter?  Does my transcript represent my abilities as a lawyer?  Can I please make my resume two pages long?  Am I good enough, am I smart enough…… Do people like me?? 

I had always hoped my potential employer would seek me out instead of the other way around. 

Rejection letters are the worst.  I just got a rejection letter from a job I didn’t even apply for.  I felt like writing back to them to let them know that I didn’t want their stinkin’ job in the first place.

Business Cards Are My Baseball Cards

Great networking advice, Abbie!

I know I have said this before, but Abbie’s piece got me going.   I love meeting new people.  It gives me a rush.  I love learning about where people come from, how they got where they are, what kind of work they do, where they want to go.  Some of my favorites recently have been the “young friends” events:  Young Friends of the Free Library, Young Friends of the Art Museum, Young Friends of the Philly Orchestra…etc.

And I also love figuring out how me and my new friend are connected.  Its my new game.  How many people do we have in common?  Philly is a small town, so you are bound to have at least one person in common.  For those of you stuck in the oficina due to billable hours, there are of course various online networking outlets (not nearly as fun as my game) such as friendster, myspace, and LinkedIn.   LinkedIn is a great professional resource.

 Michael Adler is a LinkedIn guru.  Check him out.  (I had to give you a shout out since you said you read this)

I am not so good at the LinkedIn–I only have 13 connections.  =( 

 

Lush Lunch

I am a big fan of the power lunch. 

I am an ‘event junky.’  If I don’t go to at least two networking events per week, I feel like I am missing out.    I love meeting new people–not for any particular business benefit I could possibly derive–but because I get a thrill out of learning about what people do, how they think, etc.  

I always make a point to have a follow up lunch with my new contacts.  I love lunch as much or more than I love networking events.  At lunch you get to have your new contact all to yourself.  Then if you are lucky, a first lunch may lead to a second, a third… at which point, I think it safe to say you have a new friend and ally.

Needless to say, I go to lunch a lot. 

Every so often, especially on a Friday afternoon, when the waiter comes by to take our drink orders, I wonder whether it would be acceptable to have a glass of wine with my lunch.

About three years ago I had a first lunch date at Tir Na Nog.  I was having a particularly horrible Friday at work.  I went out on a limb and ordered a glass of wine at lunch.  My lunch date was rather shocked.  Luckily, my lunch date and I met up for subsequent lunch dates and became friends.  Although my decision to have a glass of wine at lunch turned out to be ok, it must have made some kind of imnpression because Hope and I still talk about our first lunch date. 

When is it ok to have an adult beverage at a power lunch?  Obviously, if you are on an interview, it is probably not a good idea.  And maybe if you are meeting with a more senior attorney or business person, you should not order a libation unless they do so first.  If you are lunching peer to peer, maybe you can get a sense of how your lunch date will react if you make a little joke about how you wish it was already time for happy hour.

Lunch, anyone?