Model Diet: Recommended Breakdown of 2300 Creditable Hours for Lawyers

A Model "Diet" of Types of Work for the Apocryphal "Typical" Associate in a Law Firm

One of the oft-expressed laments about the billable hours system and, particularly, onerous billable hour requirements is the fact that too heavy a billable hour load has the inevitable effect of crowding out other important non-billable activities, of benefit to the lawyer's firm, the profession, and/or the community. Accordingly, it seems to be a useful exercise to design a proper mix -- for use as a "best practice", or in a firm policy manual -- that ensures a level of billable and non-billable activity to serve not only the interests of an acceptable level of productivity given the firm's reasonable profitability aspirations, but also other important objectives.

Some caveats should be noted:

1. This model recognizes that the "typical" associate -- and therefore the typical annual "diet" -- is apocryphal. Every year, something unexpected happens that would make consistent achievement of these targets impossible -- whether it is a five-month trial, an all-consuming, year-long transaction, a major pro bono commitment, the drafting of a major, non-billable article or book for client development purposes, assignment of important and very time-consuming firm duties, or other developments. This model is intended as a hypothetical one, achievable on average over the course of a number of years, but not slavishly in every year.

2. This model also is designed to work within the billable hour system, and so it assumes that the hypothetical associate's client workload is based essentially 100% on billable hours. Obviously, the model is not intended to discourage in any way the ongoing effort to develop alternative pricing models for the profession.

3. The total number of hours reflected in this model -- 2300 hours of billable and non-billable time -- is significant. The model reflects an assumption that law firm associates are willing to work hard, that the profession is demanding, but that it provides great rewards, not only monetarily but also through the challenge and stimulation of work for paying clients as well as the other activities reflected in the model. The total is, at the same time, manageable -- it represents less than 50 hours of recorded, professional time, billable and non-billable per week, allowing for vacation, holidays, etc. We do not view that as an unrealistic burden for incentivized, enthusiastic, hard-working associates who enjoy what they do. Indeed, the allocations suggested for all types of work -- billable and non-billable -- are designed to provide a varied set of challenges and to enhance the psychic rewards of the practice.

4. Needless to say, this "diet" does not address the issue of part-time work, and there is absolutely no intention to undermine the importance of the availability of such work schedules by setting out this full-time "diet".

With that introduction, here is a proposed typical "diet":

1. Billable client work -- 1900 hours
We are mindful of the productivity needs of major law firms in order to meet their profitability aspirations and thereby attract and retain the top talent. This level of billable work, if achieved on average by a firm, should be more than adequate to achieve any reasonable aspirations in this regard. A higher level, on average, inevitably "crowds out" other activities, unless the expectation is that associates simply have no life outside the law. This is an eminently workable level.

2. Pro bono work -- 100 hours
This is at the top end of the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge (©, the Pro Bono Institute) -- it is approximately 5% of client time. But given not only the social purpose served, but also the reality that pro bono work is in some cases weighted to more junior lawyers, and that pro bono work serves training and development goals, this enhanced level would seem to be appropriate for this exercise.

3. Service to the Firm -- 100 hours
Service to the firm - for example, in recruitment, mentoring more junior associates, serving on firm committees -- is an important part of the life of the firm and the organizational development of the associate.

4. Client Development -- 75 hours
Associates are eager to learn about effective techniques for developing and maintaining quality work. It takes time to accomplish this -- the partners need to take time to teach, the associates need to devote time to learn, and they need to have sufficient time to assist in all varieties of client development activities - e.g., articles, speeches, responses to RFPs and the like.

5. Training and Professional Development -- 75 hours
The best firms devote significant resources to training -- formal in-house programs, informal training and mentoring activities, evaluation activities, occasional attendance at outside programs, and the like. In addition, self-training -- keeping current with the literature in one's field -- takes time as well. This is the lifeblood of developing excellent lawyers. It takes time.

6. Service to the Profession - 50 hours
Participation in bar and other professional association activities and committees is an important service to the profession and a learning vehicle as well, and should be encouraged.