Efficiency rather than billable hours will be used to evaluate associates at this large law firm
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The nearly 300 associates at Jackson Lewis will no longer be evaluated based on billable hours.
Beginning next year, the firm will instead evaluate associates based on efficiency, client service, responsiveness, team-orientation and pro-bono commitment, the Am Law Daily reports.
A few years back, the law firm required associates to work 1,900 hours to be eligible for a productivity bonus, according to firm chairman Vincent Cino. Now, he tells the Am Law Daily, the only financial consideration will be “true billed value.”
The Am Law Daily sought comment on the change from Altman Weil consultant Thomas Clay. He told the publication that, in the last 15 years, most law firms have shifted their compensation focus from billable hours to fee receipts.
“When they look at productivity, do they look at hours? Yes,” Clay asked. “But if you can’t get the fee receipts in the door, do you get less credit for your hours? Yes. In the end, you can’t spend hours at the Acme—you can only spend cash.”
