Billable Hours
2160 hours is a ridiculous number of hours for a Nevada firm. I recently left Nevada, but everyone I knew who worked at firms in Vegas billed significantly fewer hours and received substantially higher pay.
-- Anonymous, May 03, 2000.
I stand corrected.
I have since been informed that this is typical for insurance defense firms.
-- Anonymous, May 10, 2000.
Billing
I had the same initial reaction that such a high number was rediculous. What other firms have such a high minimum in Vegas?
-- Anonymous, May 16, 2000.
Billing
I'm not aware of any other firm with hour requirements that high. However, I do not know much about insurance defense firms. Due to the nature of their work, their rates are lower which translates into lower pay and higher hours. Most Nevada firms I am familiar with have requirements of 1800 to 1900. Sometimes, but not always, that translates into 2000 hours.
-- Anonymous, May 17, 2000.
Hours
In Las Vegas, this is quite the norm... Where does your info come from? Please share...
I called around and found some lower, some higher, most around 2160.
-- FreddyBoy, November 30, 2000
Thorndal, Delk
Anyone have any recent info on this firm or the insurance defense lit. game in Vegas? I will hate myself in the morning, going from transactions to litigation, but the $ seems right.
-- DD, December 08, 2000
Las Vegas Requirements
I am on the hiring committee for my firm and will tell you that we tell our candidates that there is no billable hour requirement in our firm because a responsible associate will know when the work is done and done well. By the same token, I billed 260 hours (yes hard billable) last month which included a couple of all-nighters. This market is so attractive to young lawyers because the opportunities seem limitless. But, like any Faustian bargain, those opportunities come with costs.... If serious hours are not to your liking, find a firm whose emphasis is on spreading the work through constant hiring rather than remunerating its associates well for their extraordinary effort.
-- Anonymous, February 03, 2001.
I interviewed with this firm a couple of years ago. Perhaps ...
I interviewed with this firm a couple of years ago. Perhaps (hopefully) things have changed, but I was told the following: you bill less than 180 hours in a month, you'll get a lecture-- you bill less than 180 in the next month, you'll get a pink slip. I was also told that you were expected to bill 180 during the month in which you took your annual vacation, although they were somewhat more flexible on that point. The firm has gone through fairly substantial changes since then, so I don't know if this holds up today. I can assure you that's not the norm in LV. I suspect that's no longer the norm at this firm. I can't imagine that system lasting very long. As for most LV firms requiring 2100 hours, that's BS. Insurance defense firms perhaps, but not general litigation/transactional firms.
-- Anonymous, February 16, 2001.
Insurance Defense = 2000 +
I just left an insurance defense firm in LV where the absolute minimum was 2000 hours a year. In reality, the requirement is somewhere around 2250, because the partner (at least the one I worked for) pushed you work that much. If I billed less than 9 hours a day, my time would be circled by my supervisor with a notation like "9 hours MINIMUM." And add to all that the fact that the money was significantly below other firms (although right about on the level with other insurance defense firms) at 67k / year. They just burn out their associates and rehire 12 new ones each year. I didn't even last that long.
-- Anonymous, March 08, 2007.
or start a new thread about
Nevada
: Las Vegas
: Thorndal, Armstrong, Delk, Balkenbush & Eisinger, P.C.
