Attorney/lawyer riders: how to balance billable hours with riding time

[BITSA]

Thoughts and suggestions? Help for dealing with abject guilt that I should be at the office and not the barn....

[vagabondrider]

Very little sleep! For work at night or on the weekends, try to work from home. So you can come home in the evening & ride, then continue to work without necessarily going back to the office. I rarely went into the office on the weekends, but I always worked on the weekends (from home or the barn, comfy in my breeches or pajamas). It's really helpful if you ride super early in the morning when clients and colleagues are less likely (but not unlikely!) to expect you to be available, as it's when normal people are asleep! If you are away at a horse show or something, work from the show. That's easier than it used to be thanks to things like Citrix & smartphones. You can still be accessible & working while away from the office.

Also try to minimize your commute times (if you drive) & live very close to the office or barn (or both if possible!). If you take the train, make sure you always have work to do on the train. My first year at a law firm, the partner in charge of the first years reminded us that if we take New Year's Day off, we are already behind on our billable hours & have to make them up elsewhere! The clock never stops ticking!

[222orchids]

I ride at 6:30 a.m., and then go to work. The key is to have a gym in your building or close to either the barn or office, so that you can shower and change and still be at your desk by 9:00 or so. If I had to detour home for that I could never do this. So, join the gym, even if it is just for the shower and locker room (mine is in my office building so it's super convenient). Become low-maintenance; I can go from boots to suits in 15 minutes if I have to. I have my work clothes, shoes, hair dryer and makeup bag all packed and by the front door the night before so it's grab and go. Frankly, I just quickly brush off the horse and slap on the tack; it's hot here year round so he's likely to get a shower afterward anyhow. In the summer when the teenagers are at the barn super early I will occasionally throw a few dollars at one of them to untack, shower put the horse away for me. That gets me out with plenty of time to spare. My barn is 35-45 minutes from work depending on traffic; I often schedule conference calls for 8:00 as that is the time I get in the car to start the drive (my clients are early birds, too, thank goodness). When I have to take a day for a seminar to keep the CLE credits going, I choose one in the vicinity of the barn so that when that is over I can catch a late-afternoon ride.

[vxf111]

Bill like crazy every time you're not riding. I used to work really early (like 7am or earlier) and work through lunch and then leave at 6pm. If I was pretty efficient/did mostly billable work... that was a solid 10 or more hours there. And then after riding I'd come home and sometimes bill an hour or two in the evening (doing doc review or something more mindless). And then sometimes work some on the weekend. Limit non-billable work to the extent you can.

Live close to work/the barn.

Don't waste time when you're at the office (socializing, putting on makeup, eating etc.).

I was also very efficient at the barn. No chit chatting. No longer grooming sessions. Get on. Get riding. Get off. Go home.

I don't miss that life... but it's doable

[joiedevie99]

I agree with much of the advice you've gotten already.

I live 10 minutes from work. Barn is another 5 minutes past that. I wake up at 7, get on horse at 8, arrive at office at 9:15. We have a gym in the building, so I shower quickly and am behind my desk by 9:30.

Horse is on full training/grooming board. He's tacked up when I arrive, and cooled out/untacked for me when necessary. If I'm in Court/arbitration for a day, trainer rides.

For shows, my iphone projects a wireless hotspot so I can put my computer online anywhere and get into my files with Citrix. We have night/weekend secretarial support who will email you documents/proofread/etc. when necessary.

It's not uncommon for me to bill 12-15 hours on a weekday when I've ridden. Sleep sometimes loses.

[FineAlready]

I agree with much of the advice already given. It works best if either the barn or work is close to home. I have started riding at 6:30 a.m., and can get home, shower, and make it into my office by 9 or 9:15. Then I can stay a little later because I don't feel rushed to get a ride in after work.

You also have to kind of accept that you will often be working weekends/nights when others are not, simply because you choose to take time out to ride during hours that others are working.

Finally, I think it helps to be in a firm and department that understands that people need to have lives and supports your decisions regarding your own schedule. I would not have attempted my current schedule when I was in true BigLaw, but it works fabulously now when I am in a 200 person firm (much smaller), with only three of us in my very specialized practice area. My department is like a small extended family to me, and they support me riding because they'd like to keep me around and out of the mental hospital!

I'm not sure how long you have been practicing, but the guilt about not billing every second of the day went away for me over time. I rarely think about work when I'm not working, and I do hit or exceed my billable targets each year. I had major burnout as a fifth year lawyer and pretty much just decided that I was going to bill whatever I billed and live a more normal life. I was light on hours that year, but then revived the following year. I also became a much better attorney for having made the decision to not let my career take over my life. It wasn't sustainable. I'm a seventh year now, and pretty happy with my work/life balance. I kind of do whatever I want and no one cares so long as I'm appropriately servicing clients and hitting all of my targets. If anything, people seem to really respect that I do not let the office own me.

[Temecula Jumper]

I live close to work (15 minute commute), am able to work remotely on weekends/evenings, and the barn is only 10 minutes from my house. I also have a relatively low billable hour requirement too. But despite all that, I still only get to ride 2 - 3 days a week. But, I blame part of that on having a young child (4 year old) who also demands a lot of my time. I'm lucky that my horse is in full training so he doesn't suffer from my time restraints (but my riding sure does sometimes!). It's hard to jugg

[BITSA]

Thanks all for the great advice. I have a 4 and 7 year old at home so working from home (unless after bedtime) is pretty tough. But it's so nice to know you all are put there and have figured out ways to manage things. I think the early morning riding might be best. My barn is about 20 minutes from home and 35 from the office w/no traffic and the building has a gym w/shower that i should use.

I have been practicing since 1996 but am now in the rainmaker mode, which stresses me out....sigh. I am hoping when both kids are in school full time it will help with things. But thank you all so much, it's always good to not feel alone.

[FreshAir]

I don't miss the billable hour thing at all. It is a crazy way to work, if you can find another way to work (corp counsel) do it!

[Mouse&Bay]

You can figure out a way to do it. Kids make it much, much harder.

I do the 'night' shift with the horses. House is less than 3 km from office so I can leave the house at 5:55 am and be there by 6 am. I usually work through lunch (unless there are client meetings etc) and stay efficient. I'm out of the office at about 5:45 and will be home before 6 pm as that skips our "rush hour" on the main road home for me. We usually lesson at 7 pm so in the door at 6 pm, change and driving up to the barn by 6:15 pm. Barn is only 20 min from home and home is along the way from work to barn so that makes things much easier.

It works out. Summer tends to ease up for me (in litigation and no jury trials during the summer) so it corresponds nicely with horse show season. We do not take other vacation times - my vacations time is saved for horse shows, sneaking out of work at 4 pm for a dressage lesson on a Friday afternoon etc.

The docketing is killer... not my favourite thing to do. I do force myself to do it daily as otherwise you many find that many hours escape. That is frustrating.

There are times when it just doesn't work out and I try not to stress out about it. The horses are in good hands and a vacation for them usually results in them coming back to work keen and glad for the attention.

[vxf111]

17 years out and you're worried about billable hours? Sympathy from me. That sucks. I thought the whole point of being senior/making partner was NOT to have to do that B.S.?! You know... there's life outside a big firm...

[fordtraktor]

17 years out and you're worried about billable hours? Sympathy from me. That sucks. I thought the whole point of being senior/making partner was NOT to have to do that B.S.?! You know... there's life outside a big firm...

Agree. I don't see how you could manage a stiff billable load, rainmaking activities, 2 kids and still ride. No wonder you are struggling.

I went in-house, ostensibly part-time, and still have no time to show -- weekends are family time. There is no way I could have horses in my life, be present for my kids and work in a law firm that required me to bill 2000 hours. I get precious little sleep as it is. My sympathies, hope you can find a better solution!

[GotSpots]

When I was at BigLaw, I found it much easier to ride in the morning before work and then schedule conference calls for my drive in; however, generally speaking, I was lucky if I was able to ride one morning a week and both days on weekends and compete once or twice a month. I was fairly consistently billing 2400+/year, but I had enough travel midweek, depositions, and at least one trial if not two every year, so those were pretty easy hours. Honestly, I never felt the pressure to "bill" - it was just trying to get the work done, and/or push it down to more junior attorneys or other colleagues. If you're bringing it in, then prioritize having other folks do some of the work - depending on how your firm assigns credit, you should get compensation credit for bringing it in.

In terms of trying to make it work, I think it's imperative to have your horse with someone who can keep them tuned up for you and handle any emergencies. It's just not doable to run out to the farrier on a random Tuesday or meet the vet when they have a minor cut, so you need someone who can help cover those for you. I also find it helpful to block out my ride times or later mornings on my calendar so that time is preserved.

Other than that, forgive yourself for not being *perfect billing machine*. You'll be way happier. Or do what I did and go inhouse. Much better existence when you're not living in .3/hour increments.

[ottbee]

Three words:

"Go in house."

If you are a rainmaker, all the easier to do. Income will take a hit, which isn't always feasible given the rest of your family dynamic, but in the "time to live versus money" decision, "time to live" won for me.

I went in house AND work from home, live about 15 minutes from the barn, and husband is a stay at home Dad.

[FineAlready]

I am also a bit surprised that you are still feeling the billable hours pressure as much as you seem to be feeling it. I do understand the "rainmaking" and networking pressure, as that is very present in my firm, even at my level (I'm up for shareholder in a few months).

But, yes, two kids plus full time attorney, plus horse...that is a lot. That's actually one of the reasons I didn't have kids. I'm pretty much at peak load right now, and kids are not a priority to me.

Does your firm have a part time option? I have friends that practice part time (usually 80%, sometimes 60%), and that makes it more like a "normal" full time job.

Oh, and whoever was billing in 0.3 increments, I hate you a little. I have to bill in 0.1 increments, even though the majority of my firm bills in 0.25 increments.

[Brooke]

Wow! All I can say is that it doesn't sound like a lot of fun. More power to you guys.

[FineAlready]

Wow! All I can say is that it doesn't sound like a lot of fun. More power to you guys.

It's honestly not bad if you are in the right firm, with the right people, practicing a type of law that is interesting to you. I can think of much worse ways to earn a living. And, at least in my case, it is very flexible. I can be at the barn to hold my horse for the farrier, vet, etc. pretty much always. No one checks up on me, etc., they just trust me to do what needs to be done.

[Temecula Jumper]

I second the suggestion about going part time if you can. I'm currently in the process of working that out with my firm so that I can do 3 1/2 days a week. I've offered to pick up more hours during busy times, like trial, and the partners seem very receptive to that. Would that be an option for you at all?

I don't know how you guys with 2000+ billable hours do it. I think my measly 1800 is bad. And I wish I could bill in .3 increments! I've never even heard of that, is that common???

[FineAlready]

I second the suggestion about going part time if you can. I'm currently in the process of working that out with my firm so that I can do 3 1/2 days a week. I've offered to pick up more hours during busy times, like trial, and the partners seem very receptive to that. Would that be an option for you at all?

I don't know how you guys with 2000+ billable hours do it. I think my measly 1800 is bad. And I wish I could bill in .3 increments! I've never even heard of that, is that common???

Yeah, I've never heard of 0.3 either. It's either 0.1 or 0.25 most places I have been. I'm a bankruptcy attorney, so for fee applications we are required to bill in 0.1 increments...this carries over to all of our work, including creditor representations where there are no fee applications. Boo.

FWIW, my billable requirement is 1900, but I have billed 2000 fairly comfortably in the past. When I was in BigLaw, I quite "easily" billed 2400. Keep in mind that all billable work is not created equal. Travel time and certain meetings are very, very easy (mindless) billable hours. There is a lot of that in BigLaw. Not much of it in my current firm. My billable hours are all worked the hard way, for the most part.

[Blugal]

Like so many others - I try to ride in the morning before work (at least, you know you've ridden that day no matter what goes wrong at work!). I have 2 horses to ride, so I also ride one after work in the summer.

In the winter, I used to board at an indoor - this year I didn't, so I left work at 3, rode before dark, then worked at night.

I work on weekends and evenings and when I'm at shows, I check in with the office by phone either before or after I ride. Once I'm done riding (and course-walking if I'm at an event) then I log in remotely (trying to get this more efficient) and work a couple of hours so I can justify taking 2, 3, or 4 days off. My vacation does not entirely cover the number of days off for showing (mostly because of the travel time to get to/from). Also our office is closed between Christmas and New Year's - I think this year I will be working part of that to make up for horse show time.

I have a reliable barn owner who holds them for farrier and vet, mucks out, and turns out. I ride horses with good dispositions so they can handle having 2 weeks off while I'm in trial or even being ridden every second day so they can both stay in work.

However, it's a juggling act and I often struggle to keep them all in the air. I have dropped my jogging schedule for most of the summer. My work is pressuring me to bill more, but at the same time to spend 3-4 hours per week (non-billable) networking as well. I also am the only lawyer at our new branch office - it was opened so I could ride in a more horsey area - so I have done all the start-up etc. and that has seriously taken a chunk out of my billable time. It is still a rocky area with the partners as they seem to expect a full amount of billable + new office start up + networking + rainmaking, but all without support staff...

I look forward to my upcoming trials in November/December to boost my billables... Horses are getting about 6-8 straight weeks off Oct/Nov/Dec.