Valuable associates bill more hours; aim for 2000+ hours in large firms.
Different markets have different hourly requirements.
Practice areas can influence your billing hours.
Reputation matters: Be the hardest-working associate.
Partners also bill significant hours to contribute to the firm's success.
Transcript
Transcript:
Depends on the law firm; the more hours you bill, the better off you'll be. It's important to understand that the more hours you bill and any firm, the more likely you are to be considered the most valuable associate. The larger firms, many require over 2000 hours.
In some law firms, even more than 2,500 hours is the norm. But it depends on the firm you're trying to work in and often the market. So, different markets also have different requirements. It also can vent in your practice areas. So, certain practice areas often don't have anywhere near the crazy hours because the thought processes involved people doing the work are much more involved.
It depends on the firm. My advice is to have a reputation for being the hardest-working associate wherever you are. Even partners are often expected to bill a lot of hours, and partners are often the ones that build the most hours because they also need to make a significant contribution to the firm and its bottom line.
