The most recent edition of Law Practice magazine contains an article entitled “Hours Expectations for New Partners.”  That article contains this quote, “Available information indicates that an average partner in an average firm should plan to log at least 2,500 hours per year (or 50 to 60 hours per week) in pursuit of the aims of his or her firm.”  Are you kidding me?  And, if that is the average, presumably there are firms that require more than that.  So, the average lawyer is working 50-60 hours per week?  No wonder they are so unhappy.

And, of course the most telling part of the quote is the last phrase which points out that these hours are logged “in pursuit of the aims of his or her firm.”  In other words, it’s not about the client.  Those hours need to be logged for the firm.  What if you removed any billable hour requirement?  What if the focus was on getting the job done for the client as efficiently and effectively as possible and doing so at a profit to the firm?

There’s a novel idea.