July 2026 Hours Check In
July 1--first business day of the month? Gotta check that big law, billable hours goal.
Reminder: partners at my firm are expected to track 2400 hours--billable and non-billable (investment, productive, professional, administrative) time.
That's 200 hours a month.
I take the monthly target and break it into daily targets.
Every month, I look at the calendar.
How many days this month will I track a full-day's worth of hours? A half-day's worth? No hours?
In July, I see 7 zero-day hours (for the Fourth and taking our neice to Boston for her graduation present).
In July, I see one half-day and 19 full days--with some weekend days to catch up as needed.
200 hours divided by 19.5 days = 10.3 hours on full days and 5.2 hours on the half day.
Some days, I'll track more than the goal (like today). I'll either bank those hours, building a buffer, or take time off the next day, the rest of the week or the rest of the month.
Some days, I'll miss the goal. I'll add time to the next day, the rest of the week, or the rest of the month. Or, I'll hold, knowing I have five more months to catch up on any deficit.
At my stage, as a third-year partner, billable hours still matter.
And so do my other metrics: billable dollars I manage for others' clients, billable dollars I bring in on new clients, billable dollars for my work, billable dollars I proliferate for existing clients.
And so does that "non-billable" time--which I do a ton of, because I'm building, mentoring, leading, giving back, and generally committed to my growth as a lawyer, partner, and community member.
Between some big cases settling and other substantive matters not yet ramping up (but it is coming), my billable hours are lower than I'd like.
And yet: my other metrics are on track, if not ahead of the goals I've set for myself (and which the firm hopes I'll meet).
It is a nuanced, balancing act.
I share this monthly to show how to keep the panic at bay, to demonstrate how you can manage the ebbs and flows, to show that sustainability turns a lot of taking the negativity out of the billable hour--which will remain even as I hope to shift to alternative fee models.
This world isn't for everyone. That is okay. That is what makes the world, and legal profession, go round.
If you're in it, you can manage it. It doesn't have to be a boogie man, once a week or once a month chaos monster.
It can be a tool, a way to show your work and your effort.
It can be systematized and habitual, so that you run it, instead of it running you.
✌🏻🔥♥️