Here's what an employed lawyer's work encompasses...

There are two broad categories of employed lawyer’s work in a private practice...

Work directly for a client’s matter...and work otherwise for the legal firm’s business plan...

Both are undeniably work, and both should be recognised as such by the employing practice.

The latter, what I designate “FirmTime?”, is actually the most important of the two categories in terms of managing resources, setting budgets etc, because once its range and volume are identified for each team member as a result of their skillsets and interests, that drives what amount of that lawyer’s time is available to work on client files.

It should be noted that most firms operate this all-important allocation of skillset resource in reverse, well sort of as “operate” is a bit generous, setting billable hours targets to be achieved despite whatever else the particular practice throws at the lawyer by way of FirmTime?.

This is where a lot of quite unnecessary angst, pressure, and disappointingly, budget failure, is born.?

Without proper appreciation of an appropriate FirmTime? allocation team member by team member, there is almost guaranteed to be a version of “two in one doesn’t go”.?

If ClientTime? targets are not set on a sound practical basis, to do all FirmTime? that is needed?and?also hit the ClientTime? targets, it would require lawyers to work a lot more hours than they are paid for, and there should be no argument that that is both inappropriate and unsustainable.

Note also, of course, that ClientTime? is?not?billable time. It is merely a record to assist the firm, of the potentially invoiceable input that has gone into progressing that matter for the client.?

Many factors rightly go into formulating an invoice for the client, and very often “billable” time is not actually billable at all, far from it.

FirmTime? is itself two main types.

In Category A is all apparently necessary, and/or unavoidable, tasks that take up lawyer time.

A good example (one of many, further below) would be reading various non-client communications to assess relevance and decide on action.

Category B is very useful and/or necessary tasks that are elective, and dependent on team members having training for skillsets relevant to creating value for the firm.

Good examples would be engaging in effective networking activity, developing (or enhancing existing) referral relationships, writing some plain language content for the firm’s landing page in your area of expertise, assisting a co-worker scope and better price one of their potential engagements, or mentoring a team member.

Where many lawyers fall down in their personal activity management, and firm management is also often complicit, is in failing to clearly distinguish between tasks in the two categories.

Even after identifying Category A tasks that can be eliminated or delegated, any busy lawyer can make a long list of things in Category A that they perceive, “Just need to be done all the time”.

Importantly however, they do not all need to be done every working day, and in my long experience (watching closely for nearly 35 years lawyers who do capture their activity fully) a lawyer who does not accurately record the real time spent will tend to over-estimate the average daily time taken up by them. I’m certain that this is why many lawyers struggle to work even four hours a day on active client files. They think they don't have the time to do it, and it doesn't happen.

I suggest brainstorming with co-workers how they deal efficiently with various things on their list, including discussing “left-field” ideas for having a more persistent go at getting rid of some of the tasks altogether.

Often the fastest way for a new lawyer to build their legal skillsets is to work alongside more experienced co-workers on real files, under their direction, and the more of the day that can be happening the better.

To accurately identify the scope of the opportunity for these hours requires careful recording of all FirmTime? competing for the lawyer’s attention (in effectively invested real time not units) so as to be able to get that particular house thoroughly under control at all stages of career development. The challenge never ends, but nor is it insurmountable.

Again, a simple example should be useful. Heaven forbid, but if someone considers it a good use of your time as a new lawyer to organise coffee and cakes for them, a client, or all your team in a meeting, I’ve got news for all involved.

Ways to get that task done at well below a cost of a few hundred dollars an hour exist, and your career development will not be accelerated by doing it twice.

The financial health of the firm requires its resources at all levels sensibly utilised, and the professional development and mental wellbeing of new lawyers necessitates them being involved to the utmost in meaningful work, and being recognised for it. There is no inherent need for new lawyers to be a poorly paid unproductive cohort.

A closing Robservation...new lawyers very often have fewer FirmTime? demands on them in the elective areas. After all, who are they going to be mentoring, what skills have they acquired to write precedents or checklists, and what new service areas can they presently develop? How will they (just yet) start or enhance referrer relationships?

Yes, in contrast, they need plenty of training, but, properly managed, much of it can be on file, potentially invoiceable, even if at relatively low rates.

To create a real win-win, many firms need to be looking at fewer allocated hours for FirmTime? for newer lawyers, and increased “learning maximums” hours working with others on real files.?

The improved organisation required to pull it off isn’t particularly hard, it just requires a better mindset around the benefits of the better outcomes all round, eschewing of traditional file-handling methods, and a real willingness to get it fixed.