I know this is contradictory with my username and the topic has been discussed to death, but I’m just so sick of the billable hour and can’t believe this is how we still operate. It’s bogus, a fraud, a complete myth and relic that rewards inefficiency and even dishonesty.
I just feel like a system where we billed based on value + complexity of a deal alone (since that’s what we basically already do anyways) without the stupid, arbitrary measure of “billable hours” would be best for everyone, the clients, us associates, the firms, the public perception of lawyers, etc. How we are stuck with this arcane system is beyond me.
The worst part of it is I’m sick of other associates billing absurd numbers that there’s no way they actually hit and yet I do the same if not more work (at a higher quality too) but I’m punished because I was able to turn comments too efficiently. I’m just done with it, it’s a giant scam to keep us chained to our desks forever.