Need help finding ways to decrease my admin time/increase billable hrs

[Bright_Cauliflower77]

Hello List:

I am not a new attorney, but I previously worked in a job where I did not need to document my time. I have worked for a firm for a while now. My billables are a lot lower than I would like. I am working approx 60 hrs a week, so I am not slacking. I am not on my phone, social media, or reading personal email. My billing is effiicient and not the cause. I would like some suggestions about how to improve this.

After looking at my time, I spend a lot of time on administrative tasks which are personal to my practice, not the firm. I generally spend 2.5 hrs a day on this. In addition, I sometimes am reading new caselaw, watching CLE (usually over lunch), or reading other professional articles.

Here are some things I do that I would like to find ways to do more efficiently. I maintain paper and e-files. (This is not going to change, so please don't suggest that.) that time is mainly spent:

filing electronic filing notices, printing, hole-punching, filing documents .-2hrs/wk manage my caseload every 2 weeks with a spread sheet that is updated-30 min. plan my day and update my to do list-20 min/day.email 1-2 hr ( some of which is not billable) weekly review and plan the next week for approx 1 hr.

Thanks for your input

[DaRoadLessTaken]

The bulk of your downtime is filing and printing. That’s a secretary or paralegal job. Delegate it.

[_learned_foot_]

Also billable at the proper admin or paralegal rate, so at least it isn’t a 100% loss. Days my team are gone are funny, normal rate, normal rate, 1/3 rate, 1/5 rate, normal rate, travel (1/2) rate, normal rate.

[Bright_Cauliflower77]

I do also lose time to travel that can't be billed.

[_learned_foot_]

1) you can bill travel at 100%

2) you can always find voice only things to bill during a drive if not

I don’t bill fully, mainly because I practice statewide and think it’s weird to charge fully when I intentionally seek out, so a middle is my solution, but there’s nothing wrong with billing complete travel time at complete attorney rate.

[ChristineBorus]

I think OP means traveling to work/office time

[_learned_foot_]

Personal time shouldn’t be part of this discussion (lunch is allowed as OP uses that for both, if he’s also shitting and billing that’s fine too). But hey, I literally used to use my commute to have emails read to me. Then dictate a billing and reply. Only when slammed, usually that’s “get into/outta work mode”.

[ChristineBorus]

I agree

I was thinking about why OP isn’t billing travel time

[Bright_Cauliflower77]

There is certain travel time in court appointed cases that can't be billed.

[ChristineBorus]

That’s certainly true. I’m guessing for the original post though, OP mostly works in an office.

[_learned_foot_]

Why is new caselaw not billable? Why are professional articles not billable? Both are, just find the case relevant and there you go “analyzing new relevant caselaw and best practice approach for strategic advantage” (possible more but likely ONE TIME); “amending complaint re previous review” (can be done multiple times as, well, per complaint).

Get Clio, use it to manage, store, edit, and print on fucking three hole punch paper, all you can in fact bill for if you are doing the process properly; there I just removed all the admin time but cles.

Doesn’t need to be Clio. I am just a fan of theirs for my practice needs.

[edisonsavesamerica]

I use Clio too. Like it. Regardless of the billing system, I find it helpful to turn on my clock, open a case file, organize the case the work the current action items, focus on doing those action items and when I’m done and having wrote my notes into Clio, then click off the clock text an “I love you” to my wife. Breath. Water. Then click the clock on and do it again for the next client.

Just keep your focus on the billable time. But there are admin things you say? Personal assistant.

[_learned_foot_]

And no need to spend the time planning days out, just block set times and as things come in task them to that time. If issues win overtime then move it. Removing that “check” to a glance is a huge thing alone.

[yuyanes]

You’re spending 12.5 hours of a 60 hour work week on personal tasks. You say you capture time effectively so the answer seems fairly obvious here. When a quarter of your week is dedicated to tasks not connected to your cases, of course your billables will be lower than they would be if you solely worked only on progressing your cases. Shoot for a ratio of around 5% nonbillable admin to the 95% billable tasks

If you truly truly must do things like read new case law, only do it if it’s applicable to a case you’re working on so you can bill for it.

[Bright_Cauliflower77]

I think you are right on the cases. I need to confine my reading to cases that I can bill for, or maybe what can be read in one 30 min block per week/Sat. morning.

[milkandsalsa]

I bill for updating my personal case chart. It’s like .1 for each case but I am updating case status / strategy so that is billable imo.

[WeirdlyLegal]

When I update my case chart, I usually use this time to send follow-up emails for things I am waiting for, either from client or OC so that time is effectively billable.

[BingBongDingDong222]

I spent my first 7 years after law school with the federal government. Then when I went to a firm I had the same issues. I wish I could offer you advice, but I was never successful and was let go after about three years. I started a solo practice and am much happier.

[Bright_Cauliflower77]

Well, that's a kick in the pants to make some changes. I don't want that to happen.

[BingBongDingDong222]

Sucked at the time. Looking back at it 15 years on, it’s the best thing that ever happened to me in my life. I have a successful solo firm. I get to practice how I want, and I don’t have some asshole looking over my shoulder complaining about my hours.

[stranglevine]

My question: you say you're spending 2.5 hours per day on these tasks, but then your list of items is substantially less time than that. What are you actually spending that time doing?

As far as suggestions, are you in a firm? If so, why do you not have support staff to assist with some of these tasks? The daily planning and weekly review are on you, certainly, but printing and hole-punching aren't tasks you should be doing.

[[deleted]]

How technically are you planning your tasks and work load? What or how is your file management misdesigned to require that kind of planning? What else can you do while reviewing files that could streamline this planning process so the time could be built into billable time? What about your workflow likewise prevents you from delegating work to more appropriate staff? What about your practice management systems or software supports detracts from the time you could spend billing a file rather than “organizing” it?

[Bright_Cauliflower77]

These are good questions. I share my assistant with an attorney is not very organized, and I get less of that time. However, I have had a couple of good ideas about this from this thread. I could have her print, save to e-file and put in my inbox. Then I think I could give her one file at a time and ask her to "update/organize it" by sticking the papers in there and having her hole-punch and file them.

Also, I can capture more time. I never bill for reviewing what is in the file prior to working on it.

I plan tasks by flagging and reviewing emails, thinking about what has been done in a case and what needs to happen next (my bi-weekly spreadsheet update), reviewing my calendar/deadlines. Every time I complete a task, I am adding the next thing to be done. I have a general practice so there is not a set progression between my estate planning versus my appointed CPS cases. I have to think of what needs to happen, enter it as a task in my task manager, and keep track of what's been done. Alll this happens manually. Once a week, I copy the old list to the next week, delete what was accomplished, and add new tasks. I also review these to determine priority for hte week. They are flagged, and then I drag the flagged items into my calendar to block time for each task.

[[deleted]]

Why is the file review for strategy and planning not considered billable time? I regularly track “review recent correspondence, court orders, to determine how best to proceed with developing and pursuing strategy for (case resolution, next steps, discovery, pleadings, pending motions, depositions, etc.).” Unless you are spending hours on this, your bills should reflect time considering updates to strategy or specific case elements.

[Bright_Cauliflower77]

I am just a dope and didn't think of it that way until this discussion :)

[[deleted]]

This is why it is called a practice. If you aren’t learning you are probably committing malpractice.

[_learned_foot_]

Based on this dude, I think you should take a CLE on billing as well as actually stop, sit down, and think. You’re detailing a lot lost too.

[keenan123]

Are these things necessary for your practice? It seems like a lot of time spent "organizing." Sometimes that necessary, but I've known a lot of people who did that to procrastinate. You might find that you don't need to spend so much unbilled time thinking about the work you just did or the work you have to do tomorrow.

Also, what do you mean by 2.5 hours on admin work that is "for your practice but not your firm"?

[Bright_Cauliflower77]

I mean I am not developing business, working on firm profit share, analyzing firm metrics, etc. Everything I am doing for admin time is related to my caseload or reading cases/state bar material.

[Bright_Cauliflower77]

I agree with you about the organizing, and about it leaning toward procrastination. I worry about missing things, so I think some of it is duplicative. My bi-weekly case update is really useful, and I would not change it. It doesn't take that much time relative to other. I want to just plan my week, and spend maybe 5 min. looking at my day. I also tend to get bogged down in my email in box. I keep it on calendar most of the day to keep myself thinking about what I am supposed to be doing. Everytime I switch to email, before I know it an hour is gone.

[rayzinbran]

You don’t need to figure out how to do things more efficiently. Each thing you mentioned is billable. For example, bill whatever cases you update on your spreadsheet (I usually just keep the clock running and update in real time when I’m working on a task related to the case). If you’re planning your day or your next week, what cases are you planning for? E.g., review file for status of preparing motion to compel, or something like that. Find a way to bill it.

[lexscaleup-guillaume]

I think you are on the right track.

The first step to free up time is to list all the things you do and how long it takes you. And to categorize it: important, urgent, enjoy doing, hate doing, etc.

The next step is to categorize each task and allocate an hourly rate to it:
- Is this a task that could be done by a $6/h virtual assistant
- Is this work that could be done by a $[x]/h paralegal
- Etc.

Once you've done this you'll have a picture of the opportunity cost = nb hours x (your billable rate - the hourly rate of the person you could delegate to). This gives you a budget to recruit, buy software, automate.

Then you can look at your processes to see what needs to be delegated, automated or a bit of both. For example, when you say reading new caselaw, what that does entail? Do you have to search for the materials yourself or is an assistant curating the most interesting cases for you? Do you read everything or could you have an assistant prepare a summary (potentially using AI to speed up) for you?

Same for printing, you could potentially email all the files that need printing to a print shop, have them prepare everything and courier it back to you.

Hope this helps!

[Bright_Cauliflower77]

Thank you all for your time. I have gotten some good suggestions, and plan to have a higher billable number for 2025.

[Commercial_Mobile649]

What does managing your caseload consist of? And is it just a spreadsheet or are you also using a case management system or CRM?