Most
law
firms
have
a
billable-hour
requirement
under
which
attorneys
need
to
bill
a
certain
number
of
hours
over
a
specific
period,
usually
12
months.
Law
firms
have
various
periods
over
which
they
determine
if
attorneys
satisfied
the
billable-hour
requirement,
and
many
shops
judge
attorneys
from
a
period
starting
and
ending
before
the
holiday
season.
I
have
also
heard
of
some
firms
assessing
billable-hour
expectations
on
a
fiscal-year
basis,
and
this
12-month
period
starts
and
ends
in
the
summer.
For
a
variety
of
reasons,
it
usually
makes
sense
to
evaluate
attorneys
based
on
the
calendar
year
rather
than
any
other
period.
I
am
fortunate
to
have
only
worked
at
a
law
firm
that
assessed
the
billable
hours
of
attorneys
based
on
the
calendar
year.
When
I
was
starting
at
a
firm,
I
welcomed
this.
My
first
day
of
work
was
in
or
around
the
middle
of
October,
and
it
was
reassuring
to
know
that
I
had
a
few
months
during
which
I
would
not
be
assessed
when
it
came
to
billable
hours.
During
this
time,
I
was
freer
to
take
on
pro
bono
matters
and
was
not
too
stressed
about
billing
time
since
everyone
knew
that
I
would
only
start
to
be
assessed
in
the
new
year.
After
the
new
year,
people
naturally
want
to
hustle
and
devote
more
time
to
work.
Most
people
take
time
off
to
recharge
during
the
holidays,
and
they
are
more
energized
after
the
new
year
to
attack
their
work
headfirst.
This
means
that
an
attorney
is
more
likely
to
begin
the
billing
season
strong
and
build
a
comfortable
cushion
of
billable
hours
early
during
the
period
in
which
they
are
assessed.
Each
year
I
worked
at
a
law
firm
that
had
a
calendar-year
billable-hour
cycle,
I
made
sure
to
begin
each
year
billing
tons
of
hours.
I
let
the
new
year
energy
naturally
motivate
my
work,
and
I
would
set
myself
up
with
a
solid
cushion
of
billable
hours
after
the
first
few
months
of
the
year.
This
was
helpful
to
me
when
I
planned
the
rest
of
my
year.
It
was
easier
to
take
time
off
for
vacation
or
personal
reasons
when
I
knew
that
I
had
banked
billable
hours
and
did
not
need
to
be
at
the
grind
as
much
to
satisfy
the
billable-hour
requirement.
Another
benefit
of
a
calendar-year
billable-hour
cycle
is
that
this
takes
advantage
of
the
fact
that
many
clients
wait
until
the
end
of
the
year
to
pay
their
outstanding
bills.
Some
shops
do
not
just
assess
attorneys
based
on
the
number
of
hours
of
time
they
bill.
Rather,
certain
firms
judge
attorneys
based
on
whether
a
client
pays
the
bills
associates
with
the
hours
billed
by
a
lawyer.
On
the
one
hand,
this
practice
is
somewhat
unfair
since
an
associate
often
does
not
have
control
over
whether
a
client
pays
their
bills.
On
the
other
hand,
law
firms
likely
need
to
keep
track
of
budgets
when
making
compensation
decisions,
and
so
firm
collections
are
important.
In
any
case,
by
waiting
until
the
end
of
the
calendar
year,
law
firms
maximize
the
chances
that
straggler
clients
will
pay
their
bills,
which
would
positively
reflect
on
associates.
Of
course,
not
all
law
firms
evaluate
associates
based
on
deeper
billing
metrics,
but
those
shops
that
do
should
give
associates
the
best
chance
possible
to
meet
firm
metrics.
One
of
the
main
reasons
why
law
firms
choose
time
periods
other
than
the
calendar
year
to
assess
billable
hours
is
because
they
likely
do
not
want
to
make
bonus
decisions
around
the
holidays.
Moreover,
shops
may
not
want
attorneys
to
feel
pressured
into
billing
more
hours
around
the
holidays
so
that
they
can
be
eligible
for
a
bonus.
However,
if
law
firms
establish
a
certain
threshold
above
the
billable-hour
requirement
to
receive
a
bonus,
there
will
not
be
much
assessment
needed
around
the
holidays
to
determine
if
an
attorney
will
be
receiving
a
bonus.
Moreover,
it
is
not
too
much
of
an
imposition
to
receive
a
bonus
paycheck
or
two
after
the
holidays.
Indeed,
this
was
the
practice
at
a
law
firm
at
which
I
once
worked,
and
it
was
honestly
nice
to
know
that
a
bonus
paid
early
in
the
new
year
would
not
appear
on
my
taxes
for
the
preceding
year.
Any
downside
of
having
a
billable-hour
cycle
during
the
calendar
year
is
outweighed
by
the
benefits
of
assessing
billable
hours
during
this
natural
period.
All
told,
it
is
unfortunately
too
late
for
law
firms
to
change
how
they
evaluate
billable
hours
this
year
since
the
new
year
is
right
around
the
corner.
However,
law
firms
should
strongly
consider
evaluating
the
billable
hours
output
of
attorneys
during
the
ordinary
calendar
year.
Jordan
Rothman
is
a
partner
of
The
Rothman
Law
Firm,
a
full-service
New
York
and
New
Jersey
law
firm.
He
is
also
the
founder
of
Student
Debt
Diaries,
a
website
discussing
how
he
paid
off
his
student
loans.
You
can
reach
Jordan
through
email
at
jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.