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Was/is anyone here an HONEST biller in biglaw?

i turned off my timer if I was just chatting with coworkers,...
contagious cobalt abode french chef
  05/22/25
Look at this fucking nerd using a timer
Cream hospital
  05/23/25
230 with no fluff is fucking insane. I routinely billed 200 ...
Insanely creepy site fat ankles
  05/23/25
lol @ any "man" even using a timer, let alone turn...
crystalline parlor
  05/22/25
...
fighting roast beef field
  05/22/25
...
Mahogany Candlestick Maker
  05/22/25
When I was above 200 my bills were most honest.
poppy angry box office messiness
  05/22/25
...
zombie-like public bath psychic
  05/22/25
I bill only for time where I'm 100% engaged, doing my best a...
Motley toaster base
  05/22/25
Partner: Please see me
poppy angry box office messiness
  05/22/25
...
zombie-like public bath psychic
  05/22/25
I am the partner. That's what's so insane about this.
Motley toaster base
  05/22/25
...
fighting roast beef field
  05/22/25
...
deep potus kitchen
  05/23/25
the internal moral stress of retaining honesty is a large re...
clear macaca associate
  05/22/25
why bother retaining honesty? the whole thing is fraud
Insanely creepy site fat ankles
  05/23/25
On average probably padded 15 %. Consider it your “tip...
yapping range double fault
  05/22/25
18% is now normal and many biglaw firms are suggesting 20% o...
fighting roast beef field
  05/22/25
...
yapping range double fault
  05/22/25
...
French Garrison Philosopher-king
  05/22/25
...
poppy angry box office messiness
  05/23/25
My favorite story is still that Sidley associate who wrote a...
poppy angry box office messiness
  05/22/25
...
crystalline parlor
  05/22/25
...
Comical milky gas station milk
  05/22/25
Any time I've been honest I've been passed up or fired Wh...
Comical milky gas station milk
  05/22/25
...
territorial ebony mood
  05/22/25
...
fighting roast beef field
  05/22/25
what happens when the truth comes out later?
contagious cobalt abode french chef
  05/22/25
Never does imo It's all a big ponzi scheme and everyone e...
Comical milky gas station milk
  05/22/25
people who make it see the truth immediately, xo autistd and...
Passionate Property Scourge Upon The Earth
  05/23/25
I’m more of a look at my sent inbox and estimate type ...
Khaki odious selfie toilet seat
  05/22/25
...
deep potus kitchen
  05/23/25
While I would bill more than my actual time frequently, I ne...
dull station
  05/22/25
(superstar biglawyer)
Cordovan irradiated yarmulke
  05/22/25
...
Passionate Property Scourge Upon The Earth
  05/23/25
self preservation through mental gymnastics we're all good ...
Dashing Charcoal Ape National
  05/23/25
...
contagious cobalt abode french chef
  05/22/25
If someone makes $15 an hour at McDonalds, you don't get to ...
Stirring lavender nursing home
  05/22/25
>Similarly, when you get an email on your blackberry at 1...
crystalline parlor
  05/22/25
For a single email id do like a 0.3 or 0.4 but if you're ans...
Stirring lavender nursing home
  05/22/25
wait why cant they mop the floor when orders get slow
Chest-beating Tanning Salon Circlehead
  05/22/25
When its super slow, they should. When its just a short ...
Stirring lavender nursing home
  05/22/25
im all for workers rights but i dont think mickey d's employ...
Chest-beating Tanning Salon Circlehead
  05/22/25
...
poppy angry box office messiness
  05/23/25
this guy gets it
Insanely creepy site fat ankles
  05/23/25
I bill mainly based upon the value of my work product to the...
Hairraiser Stag Film Water Buffalo
  05/22/25
(Wachtel)
poppy angry box office messiness
  05/23/25
Why would anyone be honest when you can inflate your hours b...
Garnet Point
  05/23/25
The thing most non-Jewish juniors don’t understand is ...
crystalline parlor
  05/23/25
Real talk: the people who get "caught" are overbil...
Exhilarant antidepressant drug
  05/23/25
I once had to bill more than 24 hours in a day, because our ...
Deranged Tank
  05/23/25
I massively underbill by a few hundred hours a year, often t...
Bespoke lascivious native
  05/23/25
lol
Cream hospital
  05/23/25
At my V5 prestigious elite M&A MFH shop at which I was c...
Cream hospital
  05/23/25
...
Deranged Tank
  05/23/25
The first thing my biglaw partner told me on day 1 is that y...
frum vibrant boiling water
  05/23/25
I'm not even joking when I say that it's rare and heartwarmi...
Exhilarant antidepressant drug
  05/23/25
Wasn't this the premise for Jim Carrey's Liar Liar?
French Garrison Philosopher-king
  05/23/25


Poast new message in this thread



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:45 PM
Author: contagious cobalt abode french chef

i turned off my timer if I was just chatting with coworkers, browsing the internet for personal stuff, using the restroom.

also, if I accidentally left my timer running when I wasn't working, I subtracted the excess time based on my rough estimate.

under this system, the most i ever billed in a month was 230, and that was absolutely hellish.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953664)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 8:41 AM
Author: Cream hospital

Look at this fucking nerd using a timer

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955796)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:17 AM
Author: Insanely creepy site fat ankles

230 with no fluff is fucking insane. I routinely billed 200 a month but actually workd like a hundred or so

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48956128)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:48 PM
Author: crystalline parlor

lol @ any "man" even using a timer, let alone turning it off. are u a fempoaster?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953677)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:10 PM
Author: fighting roast beef field



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953775)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:49 PM
Author: Mahogany Candlestick Maker



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953683)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:51 PM
Author: poppy angry box office messiness

When I was above 200 my bills were most honest.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953693)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:52 PM
Author: zombie-like public bath psychic



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953696)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:53 PM
Author: Motley toaster base

I bill only for time where I'm 100% engaged, doing my best and adding value

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953697)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:57 PM
Author: poppy angry box office messiness

Partner: Please see me

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953711)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:58 PM
Author: zombie-like public bath psychic



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953719)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:01 PM
Author: Motley toaster base

I am the partner. That's what's so insane about this.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953730)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:10 PM
Author: fighting roast beef field



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953776)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:32 AM
Author: deep potus kitchen



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48956167)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:55 PM
Author: clear macaca associate

the internal moral stress of retaining honesty is a large reason why I left biglaw

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953704)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:18 AM
Author: Insanely creepy site fat ankles

why bother retaining honesty? the whole thing is fraud

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48956129)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:00 PM
Author: yapping range double fault

On average probably padded 15 %. Consider it your “tip” for your services.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953725)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:11 PM
Author: fighting roast beef field

18% is now normal and many biglaw firms are suggesting 20% or even 22%

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953779)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:18 PM
Author: yapping range double fault



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953815)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:19 PM
Author: French Garrison Philosopher-king



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953820)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 6:26 AM
Author: poppy angry box office messiness



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955678)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:12 PM
Author: poppy angry box office messiness

My favorite story is still that Sidley associate who wrote an essay admitting to billing fraud and Sidley was like, “we checked and everything looked good to us. Here’s a ten percent rebate.”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953784)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:13 PM
Author: crystalline parlor



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953787)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:23 PM
Author: Comical milky gas station milk



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953844)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:17 PM
Author: Comical milky gas station milk

Any time I've been honest I've been passed up or fired

When applying I'd give honest solid resumes all passed up

Then I lie even a little bit and they all bite

I tell clients realistic timetables that are still aggressive but reasonable passed or fired eventually

Now I straight up lie

Employment is a satanic system built around forcing u to lie cheat and steal in some sick humiliation ritual

Few ever see the truth about this

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953813)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:19 PM
Author: territorial ebony mood



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953819)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:21 PM
Author: fighting roast beef field



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48953828)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 2:51 PM
Author: contagious cobalt abode french chef

what happens when the truth comes out later?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48954139)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 2:54 PM
Author: Comical milky gas station milk

Never does imo

It's all a big ponzi scheme and everyone else is in on it trying not to be caught

Seems like u only get "caught" if u step out of line politically (call out jews etc) or are bottom of the barrel and are essentially a Aztec pyramid blood sacrifice

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48954150)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 9:29 AM
Author: Passionate Property Scourge Upon The Earth

people who make it see the truth immediately, xo autistd and women struggle

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955867)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 4:50 PM
Author: Khaki odious selfie toilet seat

I’m more of a look at my sent inbox and estimate type of bro

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48954460)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:33 AM
Author: deep potus kitchen



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48956169)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 4:55 PM
Author: dull station

While I would bill more than my actual time frequently, I never billed for more than the "value" of my work product. So yes I was honest.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48954471)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 5:22 PM
Author: Cordovan irradiated yarmulke

(superstar biglawyer)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48954578)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 9:29 AM
Author: Passionate Property Scourge Upon The Earth



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955868)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:28 AM
Author: Dashing Charcoal Ape National

self preservation through mental gymnastics

we're all good people, right? especially me.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48956161)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 5:14 PM
Author: contagious cobalt abode french chef



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48954529)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 9:45 PM
Author: Stirring lavender nursing home

If someone makes $15 an hour at McDonalds, you don't get to dock their pay because when the orders got slow, they chatted with their cowrker rather than mopped the floor.

The same thing applies to law. You take the time you were at work, working, and you divide proportionally.

It's not natural for a person to read 500 pages of bonds without a break - in fact most research says you need to take periodic breaks for your mind to regenerate.

YOu shouldn't "pause your timer" after draftig some document because you're taking a lap to the water cooler or checking Facebook for a bit because you can't rewrite Section 13.6 e.

Similarly, when you get an email on your blackberry at 11 pm, and it takes you 3 minutes to respond - that's not billed as a 0.05 hour. You had to be on call to check for that email, then you lost the momentum from your evening, you're going to think about that email for 10 minutes after, and the deal will be in your head for whatever else you were planning on doing that night.

My point being that whenever your brain is required to be in "work mode" - someone should be paying for that.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955165)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 10:27 PM
Author: crystalline parlor

>Similarly, when you get an email on your blackberry at 11 pm, and it takes you 3 minutes to respond - that's not billed as a 0.05 hour. You had to be on call to check for that email, then you lost the momentum from your evening, you're going to think about that email for 10 minutes after, and the deal will be in your head for whatever else you were planning on doing that night.

so what do you bill for that? 1.25 to me makes sense

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955247)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 10:31 PM
Author: Stirring lavender nursing home

For a single email id do like a 0.3 or 0.4 but if you're answering multiple hours then i feel like the entire time is fair game

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955262)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 10:35 PM
Author: Chest-beating Tanning Salon Circlehead

wait why cant they mop the floor when orders get slow

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955265)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 10:40 PM
Author: Stirring lavender nursing home

When its super slow, they should.

When its just a short break, people would quit if they were expected to be fully working 100% of the time.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955278)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 10:42 PM
Author: Chest-beating Tanning Salon Circlehead

im all for workers rights but i dont think mickey d's employees can actually quit. thats mickey d's whole business model.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955287)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 6:28 AM
Author: poppy angry box office messiness



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955680)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:21 AM
Author: Insanely creepy site fat ankles

this guy gets it

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48956141)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 10:51 PM
Author: Hairraiser Stag Film Water Buffalo

I bill mainly based upon the value of my work product to the client. If I work hard on something but don't end up with a product that helps the client very much then I will actually underbill for my hours spent. Usually the product is good, though, and then I'm pretty fucking loose in my billing. Me and everyone else I know.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955307)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 6:28 AM
Author: poppy angry box office messiness

(Wachtel)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955681)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 7:31 AM
Author: Garnet Point

Why would anyone be honest when you can inflate your hours by 50% without drawing suspicion? 1500 gets you fired, 2250 gets you a bonus. The only people who ever get caught do colossally stupid shit like bill more than 24 hours in a day, bill for work that was never done, etc.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955722)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 8:43 AM
Author: crystalline parlor

The thing most non-Jewish juniors don’t understand is that the firm WANTS you to inflate your bill by 50%. Incentives are entirely aligned.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955798)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 9:06 AM
Author: Exhilarant antidepressant drug

Real talk: the people who get "caught" are overbilling by 200-500%, not flame. It's like the young woman who spends too long with one foot out the door, or the dude with developing mental illness who's unable to do more than an hour or two of work a couple times a week. And they're ID'd for qualitative reasons, not the billing itself, which is often a straight-up pretext to expedite getting rid of the person.



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955831)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:24 AM
Author: Deranged Tank

I once had to bill more than 24 hours in a day, because our faggy billing system automatically populated 8 hours on holidays. I think this was for the benefit of the hourly employees, but it carried over for salaried lawyers too. Anyway, I ended up working an 18 hour day on Thanksgiving, which the system wouldn't accept. Getting that sorted with the billing system retard was a nightmare.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48956150)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 8:41 AM
Author: Bespoke lascivious native

I massively underbill by a few hundred hours a year, often to the benefit of nobody (lots of contingency matters).

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955792)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 8:41 AM
Author: Cream hospital

lol

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955794)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 8:44 AM
Author: Cream hospital

At my V5 prestigious elite M&A MFH shop at which I was considered a top associate we had a universal understanding on asshole taxes for work that came in Friday afternoon with a “don’t kill your self on this, Monday AM is fine for a markup”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955799)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:31 AM
Author: Deranged Tank



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48956165)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 9:08 AM
Author: frum vibrant boiling water

The first thing my biglaw partner told me on day 1 is that you never log anything less than a 0.4 even if you spend 30 seconds on it because whatever you’re doing is taking you away from something else you could be doing and billing for

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955837)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 9:15 AM
Author: Exhilarant antidepressant drug

I'm not even joking when I say that it's rare and heartwarming to hear about a partner looking out for a young person like that.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48955848)



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:35 AM
Author: French Garrison Philosopher-king

Wasn't this the premise for Jim Carrey's Liar Liar?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5728819&forum_id=2:#48956178)