If you read the Winter edition of The Philadelphia Lawyer, you might have taken note that average starting salaries for legal professionals, and particularly associates at the largest law firms, are projected to rise 4.2% on average. So it did not surprise me when I read an article that my Dad sent me, noting that at large firms with more than 501 lawyers, associate starting salaries increased to $160,000. And just today, my Dad sent me another article, Who’s Cuddly Now? Law Firms. According to this article, many firms are starting to consider abandoning billable hours to slow the treadmill. And it’s about time, too! We’ve all seen statistics and heard stories about how lawyers are overworked, depressed and leaving. Thank goodness for those law firms (mine included) that have done away with billable hours to encourage work-life balance. As someone stated in the above-mentioned New York Times article, “Just because something always has been doesn’t mean that it always must be.” It’s time for our profession to rethink the way it does business and to catch up with other professions!
Posts Tagged ‘billable hours’
Abandoning Billable Hours May Help Slow the Treadmill
January 25, 2008What Billables?
May 22, 2007After a short hiatus, I’m back! Did you miss me? I want to thank everyone who attended or supported the Comedy Night and our Law Week events. They were hugely successful and lots of fun!
I saw this article on women returning to the workforce after having children and add it as an update to my previous post. According to the article, one law firm has created a group called “Opt-in Project” to explore the idea of abandoning billable hours to allow for balance in the lives of the firm’s attorneys. This may be anecdotal (or an exaggeration), but it’s worth noting.
