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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,...
turquoise cocky candlestick maker striped hyena
  05/22/25
Look at this fucking nerd using a timer
Garnet mood knife
  05/23/25
230 with no fluff is fucking insane. I routinely billed 200 ...
Maize irradiated house ratface
  05/23/25
lol @ any "man" even using a timer, let alone turn...
Red Razzle Trailer Park
  05/22/25
...
Angry stead turdskin
  05/22/25
...
concupiscible tank church building
  05/22/25
When I was above 200 my bills were most honest.
Ungodly magenta ticket booth
  05/22/25
...
Stimulating Cheese-eating Trust Fund State
  05/22/25
I bill only for time where I'm 100% engaged, doing my best a...
aquamarine haunted graveyard
  05/22/25
Partner: Please see me
Ungodly magenta ticket booth
  05/22/25
...
Stimulating Cheese-eating Trust Fund State
  05/22/25
I am the partner. That's what's so insane about this.
aquamarine haunted graveyard
  05/22/25
...
Angry stead turdskin
  05/22/25
...
Contagious Jap
  05/23/25
the internal moral stress of retaining honesty is a large re...
Rambunctious police squad shrine
  05/22/25
why bother retaining honesty? the whole thing is fraud
Maize irradiated house ratface
  05/23/25
On average probably padded 15 %. Consider it your “tip...
Zippy Private Investor
  05/22/25
18% is now normal and many biglaw firms are suggesting 20% o...
Angry stead turdskin
  05/22/25
...
Zippy Private Investor
  05/22/25
...
greedy ivory office
  05/22/25
...
Ungodly magenta ticket booth
  05/23/25
My favorite story is still that Sidley associate who wrote a...
Ungodly magenta ticket booth
  05/22/25
...
Red Razzle Trailer Park
  05/22/25
...
thirsty mewling point toilet seat
  05/22/25
Any time I've been honest I've been passed up or fired Wh...
thirsty mewling point toilet seat
  05/22/25
...
Aromatic Business Firm Gay Wizard
  05/22/25
...
Angry stead turdskin
  05/22/25
what happens when the truth comes out later?
turquoise cocky candlestick maker striped hyena
  05/22/25
Never does imo It's all a big ponzi scheme and everyone e...
thirsty mewling point toilet seat
  05/22/25
people who make it see the truth immediately, xo autistd and...
Hairraiser vengeful spot
  05/23/25
I’m more of a look at my sent inbox and estimate type ...
Diverse Balding Library Goal In Life
  05/22/25
...
Contagious Jap
  05/23/25
While I would bill more than my actual time frequently, I ne...
cyan beady-eyed newt
  05/22/25
(superstar biglawyer)
dark swashbuckling twinkling uncleanness
  05/22/25
...
Hairraiser vengeful spot
  05/23/25
self preservation through mental gymnastics we're all good ...
avocado scourge upon the earth range
  05/23/25
...
turquoise cocky candlestick maker striped hyena
  05/22/25
If someone makes $15 an hour at McDonalds, you don't get to ...
Awkward Bull Headed Base
  05/22/25
>Similarly, when you get an email on your blackberry at 1...
Red Razzle Trailer Park
  05/22/25
For a single email id do like a 0.3 or 0.4 but if you're ans...
Awkward Bull Headed Base
  05/22/25
wait why cant they mop the floor when orders get slow
Maroon stag film coldplay fan
  05/22/25
When its super slow, they should. When its just a short ...
Awkward Bull Headed Base
  05/22/25
im all for workers rights but i dont think mickey d's employ...
Maroon stag film coldplay fan
  05/22/25
...
Ungodly magenta ticket booth
  05/23/25
this guy gets it
Maize irradiated house ratface
  05/23/25
I bill mainly based upon the value of my work product to the...
passionate rigor
  05/22/25
(Wachtel)
Ungodly magenta ticket booth
  05/23/25
Why would anyone be honest when you can inflate your hours b...
bat shit crazy abode coffee pot
  05/23/25
The thing most non-Jewish juniors don’t understand is ...
Red Razzle Trailer Park
  05/23/25
Real talk: the people who get "caught" are overbil...
Mind-boggling parlour
  05/23/25
I once had to bill more than 24 hours in a day, because our ...
Exhilarant brass mediation
  05/23/25
I massively underbill by a few hundred hours a year, often t...
ultramarine high-end fat ankles
  05/23/25
lol
Garnet mood knife
  05/23/25
At my V5 prestigious elite M&A MFH shop at which I was c...
Garnet mood knife
  05/23/25
...
Exhilarant brass mediation
  05/23/25
The first thing my biglaw partner told me on day 1 is that y...
self-centered lodge kitty
  05/23/25
I'm not even joking when I say that it's rare and heartwarmi...
Mind-boggling parlour
  05/23/25
Wasn't this the premise for Jim Carrey's Liar Liar?
greedy ivory office
  05/23/25


Poast new message in this thread



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:45 PM
Author: turquoise cocky candlestick maker striped hyena

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: Garnet mood knife

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: Maize irradiated house ratface

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: Red Razzle Trailer Park

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: Angry stead turdskin



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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:49 PM
Author: concupiscible tank church building



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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:51 PM
Author: Ungodly magenta ticket booth

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: Stimulating Cheese-eating Trust Fund State



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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:53 PM
Author: aquamarine haunted graveyard

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: Ungodly magenta ticket booth

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: Stimulating Cheese-eating Trust Fund State



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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:01 PM
Author: aquamarine haunted graveyard

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: Angry stead turdskin



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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:32 AM
Author: Contagious Jap



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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 12:55 PM
Author: Rambunctious police squad shrine

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: Maize irradiated house ratface

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: Zippy Private Investor

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: Angry stead turdskin

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: Zippy Private Investor



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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:19 PM
Author: greedy ivory office



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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 6:26 AM
Author: Ungodly magenta ticket booth



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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:12 PM
Author: Ungodly magenta ticket booth

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: Red Razzle Trailer Park



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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:23 PM
Author: thirsty mewling point toilet seat



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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:17 PM
Author: thirsty mewling point toilet seat

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: Aromatic Business Firm Gay Wizard



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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 1:21 PM
Author: Angry stead turdskin



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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 2:51 PM
Author: turquoise cocky candlestick maker striped hyena

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: thirsty mewling point toilet seat

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: Hairraiser vengeful spot

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: Diverse Balding Library Goal In Life

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: Contagious Jap



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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 4:55 PM
Author: cyan beady-eyed newt

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: dark swashbuckling twinkling uncleanness

(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: Hairraiser vengeful spot



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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:28 AM
Author: avocado scourge upon the earth range

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: turquoise cocky candlestick maker striped hyena



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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 22nd, 2025 9:45 PM
Author: Awkward Bull Headed Base

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: Red Razzle Trailer Park

>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: Awkward Bull Headed Base

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: Maroon stag film coldplay fan

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: Awkward Bull Headed Base

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: Maroon stag film coldplay fan

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: Ungodly magenta ticket booth



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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 11:21 AM
Author: Maize irradiated house ratface

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: passionate rigor

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: Ungodly magenta ticket booth

(Wachtel)

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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 7:31 AM
Author: bat shit crazy abode coffee pot

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: Red Razzle Trailer Park

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: Mind-boggling parlour

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: Exhilarant brass mediation

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: ultramarine high-end fat ankles

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: Garnet mood knife

lol

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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 8:44 AM
Author: Garnet mood knife

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: Exhilarant brass mediation



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



Reply Favorite

Date: May 23rd, 2025 9:08 AM
Author: self-centered lodge kitty

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: Mind-boggling parlour

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: greedy ivory office

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

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