Dumb question: what is the benefit for a law firm to push employees to bill 60+ hrs/week 📂 Archived Message Posted by DT on July 15, 2026, 14:36:31, in reply to "Law talkers: hours worked polio" Given that the firms are charging by the hour, why is it better for them to have 3 employees hating their jobs and getting burned out working 70 hours a week, rather than just having 4 or 5 employees working normal hours? The firm takes in the same amount of revenue either way, so wouldn’t a better model be to have happy employees that will have better retention and won’t be exhausted from working crazy hours? Is the per employee overhead really that high that chewing up and spitting out lawyers through overwork is optimal? Previous Message How many hours do you work a week? Does it vary at all? Message Thread: Law talkers: hours worked polio - Taz July 15, 2026, 12:19:13 [poll] Dumb question: what is the benefit for a law firm to push employees to bill 60+ hrs/week - DT July 15, 2026, 14:36:31 Much of a law firm's overhead is associate comp, so short answer, yeah, reducing - gvibes July 15, 2026, 14:55:51 and it is SOP for law firms to pay full medical, dental, vision, 401K match, maybe profit sharing - bbonb July 15, 2026, 15:04:28 I have a borderline great situation - Ron McDon July 15, 2026, 13:46:06 It's pretty constant - Stu July 15, 2026, 13:42:44 worked or billed? Trust me, there is a difference* - bbonb July 15, 2026, 13:39:00 it's understood that nobody here does any work * - ijustkrushalot July 15, 2026, 15:11:50 however many I need to work to bill my usual ~2200-2500-ish or so a year. - gvibes July 15, 2026, 13:19:37 I’m inhouse now so it’s generally 8-6 ish. When I was at a firm it was 71+ - GhostofPokeyStixPast July 15, 2026, 12:52:40 « Index   Searching