{"id":4439,"date":"2006-03-19T15:17:44","date_gmt":"2006-03-19T19:17:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2006\/03\/19\/even-nyt-scapegoats-the-billa"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:54:04","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:54:04","slug":"even-nyt-scapegoats-the-billable-hour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2006\/03\/19\/even-nyt-scapegoats-the-billable-hour\/","title":{"rendered":"even NYT scapegoats the billable hour"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
It looks like New York Times<\/em> reporter Timothy L. O’Brien has\u00a0accepted <\/span><\/div>\n
the widespread mantra that billable hour quotas\u00a0are the main culprit keep-<\/span><\/div>\n
ing <\/span>young lawyers in firms\u00a0from finding satisfactory life-work balance<\/em>.\u00a0 In an <\/span><\/div>\n
article about the plight of female lawyers at top firms,\u00a0O’Brien quotes <\/span>Pros-<\/span><\/div>\n
kauer Rose partner <\/span>Bettina B. Plevan<\/span><\/a> saying<\/span><\/div>\n
.
\n<\/span><\/div>\n
\"\" “As long as firms are <\/span>male-<\/span><\/div>\n
dominated, it’s much less likely that firms will make changes to <\/span>accept the <\/span><\/div>\n
challenges of work-life balance.”\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The article\u00a0continues (New York Times<\/em>,<\/span><\/div>\n
“<\/span>Why Do So Few Women Reach the Top of Big Law Firms?,” <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>,\u00a0March 19, <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
2006) <\/span>:<\/span><\/div>\n
\"pocketwatchS\"<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
“ONE of the main bugaboos in this debate \u2014 and one that analysts <\/span><\/div>\n
says is increasingly cropping up as an issue for male lawyers as well <\/span><\/div>\n
\u2014 is the billable hours regime. Billing by the hour requires lawyers to <\/span><\/div>\n
work on a stopwatch so their productivity can be tracked minute by <\/span><\/div>\n
minute \u2014 and so clients can be charged accordingly.\u00a0 . . . <\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The article then quotes Massachusetts lawyer Lauren Stiller Rikleen, author <\/span><\/div>\n
of Ending the Gauntlet<\/em><\/a>: Removing Barriers to Women’s Success in the Law<\/em>: <\/span>“I <\/span><\/div>\n
see a lot of people who are distressed about where the profession <\/span>has gone,” <\/span><\/div>\n
Ms. Rikleen says. “They don’t like being part of a billable-<\/span>hour production unit. <\/span><\/div>\n
They want more meaning out of their lives than that.”<\/span><\/div>\n
.
\n<\/span><\/div>\n
\"hangmanG\" Complaining about “the billable-hours regime” is like a condemned man com<\/span>plaining <\/span><\/div>\n
about the executioner using a rope.\u00a0 If they get rid of the rope, they <\/span>will substitute <\/span><\/div>\n
another means to secure his death.\u00a0 It’s the death penalty that <\/span>is the problem not <\/span><\/div>\n
the rope.\u00a0\u00a0 As we said in the post chronomentrophobia<\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
From the perspective of the overworked associate or partner, there<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n

is nothing wrong with the billable hour fee system that is not very <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n

likely to be carried over<\/em> to any alternative billing arrangements, if <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n

the firm expects the shift to be made without reducing its income <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n

or profits.\u00a0 See: Patrick J. Schiltz, “<\/span>Money and Ethics<\/span><\/a>: the Young <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Lawyer’s Conundrum” (Wash. State Bar Assn, Jan 2000); MyShingle,<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Stop Whining<\/em><\/a>, Start Asking <\/em>(Jan 5, 2005); <\/span>f\/k\/a:<\/em> “Prof. Schiltz’s Ser-<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n

mon as <\/span>Required Reading<\/span><\/a> (Sept. 27, 2003; <\/span>fee fie foe and fum<\/span><\/a> (Jan. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n

1, <\/span><\/span>2005).” <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
Let’s try to think this through<\/em>:\u00a0 Why do law firms have billable-hour quotas <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
for their associates?\u00a0 Could it be so they will each generate a certain <\/span><\/div>\n
amount of fees?\u00a0 Doesn’t “We expect you to work\u00a0X hours” sound much <\/span><\/div>\n
more dignified<\/em> than “We expect you to\u00a0produce $YYY this years in legal <\/span><\/div>\n
fees<\/span>“? <\/span><\/div>\n
.
\n<\/span><\/div>\n
\"seesaw\"<\/span><\/div>\n
Life will not get more balanced for associates, female or male, if the <\/span><\/div>\n
regime of billable hour quotas is discarded, unless it becomes perfectly <\/span><\/div>\n
acceptable for the young lawyer to generate less income without it affecting <\/span><\/div>\n
future partner status.\u00a0 Indeed, if not, and the firm management still expects <\/span><\/div>\n
each lawyer to produce the same amount of billed income, it might get even <\/span><\/div>\n
more stressful<\/em> — the associate won’t know how to keep score; won’t know <\/span><\/div>\n
if he or she is keeping pace for the year.\u00a0 That might be especially true if <\/span><\/div>\n
fee contracts with clients are based on some post-completion assessment <\/span><\/div>\n
of the “value” or the performance to the client. <\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe O’Brien, in fact, understands this and purposely used the word <\/span><\/div>\n
“<\/span>bugaboo<\/span><\/a>.”\u00a0 After all, it’s usual <\/span>meaning<\/span><\/a> is “An object of obsessive, usually <\/span><\/div>\n
exaggerated fear or anxiety” (American Heritage Dictionary<\/em>, 2000)\u00a0 Right <\/span><\/div>\n
after mentioning the billable hour regime, the article get to the crux of <\/span><\/div>\n
the problem:<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
“Over the last two decades, as law firms have devoted themselves <\/span><\/div>\n
more keenly to the bottom line, depression and dissatisfaction <\/span><\/div>\n
rates among both female and male lawyers has grown, analysts <\/span><\/div>\n
say; many lawyers of both genders have found their schedules <\/span><\/div>\n
and the nature of their work to be dispiriting.”<\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\"donkey\"<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"tiny As for the main theme of the article, see our post from <\/span>January 26, <\/span><\/div>\n
2006, <\/span>maybe women lawyers are just wiser than the men<\/span><\/a> [and <\/span><\/div>\n
therefore <\/span>choose <\/span>more life-affirming options that are less likely <\/span><\/div>\n
to lead to a partner’s chair <\/span>or share].<\/span><\/div>\n
.
\n<\/span><\/div>\n
update<\/span><\/strong><\/em> (March 20, 2006): Carolyn Elefant<\/span><\/a> makes lots of good sense<\/a><\/div>\n
in\u00a0her response to the NYT<\/em> article:<\/div>\n
\n
“I know it’s not PC to say so, but ultimately, the problem<\/div>\n
with large firms is that everyone, male and female, is held<\/div>\n
to an equal standard:\u00a0 generate more billables, bring in more<\/div>\n
revenue.\u00a0 It’s an inhumane standard, sure, but it’s gender<\/div>\n
neutral.\u00a0 The real success stories aren’t the women who<\/div>\n
continue to whine for accommodations at large firms that aren’t<\/div>\n
available to men, but rather, the women who go out and create<\/div>\n
their own firms so that they can have the best of both worlds,<\/div>\n
on their own terms.”\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [Now, if only more men would do it,<\/div>\n
and spend more time with their kids!]<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
So, does Timothy Hadley at math class for poets<\/em><\/a> — and I hope he<\/div>\n
keeps his promise to tell us more.\u00a0 Meanwhile, Bob Ambrogi has<\/div>\n
some links and quotes at Inside Opinions<\/a><\/em>.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
gate’s cherry tree
\nall this flit-flit flitting
\nis work!<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
surprising the worker
\nin the field…
\nout-of-season blooms<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n
the dragonfly, too
\nworks late…
\nnight fishing<\/div>\n
siesta work
\nfor the stepchild…
\npicking brother’s fleas<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n
rich and poor
\nhave fallen down drunk…
\nblossom shade<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
the moonflowers
\nstrike it rich!
\nthe stars<\/div>\n
<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Kobayashi Issa<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
translated by <\/span>David G. Lanoue<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
“moneyBag sm”<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It looks like New York Times reporter Timothy L. O’Brien has\u00a0accepted the widespread mantra that billable hour quotas\u00a0are the main culprit keep- ing young lawyers in firms\u00a0from finding satisfactory life-work balance.\u00a0 In an article about the plight of female lawyers at top firms,\u00a0O’Brien quotes Pros- kauer Rose partner Bettina B. Plevan saying . “As long […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2926],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pre-06-2006"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kP1R-19B","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4439"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11892,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4439\/revisions\/11892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}