NALP Bulletin, April 2007

This month's column presents a series of analyses from the 2006-2007 NALP Directory of Legal Employers. Some of these analyses used to appear annually in the Patterns & Practices report, which has been discontinued, and some of the analyses cover new information that appeared on the NALP Form for the first time in 2006.

The first two tables report on total and billable hours worked in 2005, showing both the distribution of the figures reported, and the average figure reported, overall and by firm size. The third table shows the five most commonly reported billable hours requirements, and the percent of offices reporting each, as well as an average. Although a requirement of 2,000 billable hours per year is not typical, and it is not possible to track changes at individual firms and offices, a requirement of 2,000 hours is becoming more common on an aggregate basis, accounting for about 14% of reported minimums, up from about 9% for 2004. The overall average of 1,886 hours per year is an increase over the average of 1,874 in 2004.

The next series of tables reports on a variety of items related to pro bono work. Because these items had not previously been included in the Directory, this is the first time for reporting on these items in detail. (Previous analyses based on NALP's Workplace Questionnaire had neither the breadth nor detail of information provided here.) Tables 4, 5, and 6 report on whether firms give billable hours credit for pro bono work, and if so, is there a maximum that will be credited and the amount of that maximum. As Table 6 shows, a maximum, if there is one, is typically 50 or 100 hours, with 50 hours more typical of firms of less than 700 lawyers, and 100 hours more typical of firms of more than 700 lawyers. Table 7 reports on the extent to which pro bono hours are considered as equivalent to billable hours for bonus purposes.

Finally, Tables 8 and 9 report on the extent to which firms have a set minimum number of pro bono hours that they encourage, and if so, what that minimum is. Note that the items compiled in Tables 8 and 9 appear only online, not in the print directory.

Table 1. Average Total Hours Worked in 2005 — By Firm Size

Source: 2006-07 NALP Directory of Legal Employers

Table 2. Average Billable Hours Worked in 2005 — By Firm Size 

Source: 2006-07 NALP Directory of Legal Employers

Table 3. Billable Hours Requirements per Year — By Firm Size

Note: Percentages do not add to 100 because not all billable requirement figures reported are shown. Those shown are the five most commonly reported.
Source: 2006-2007 NALP Directory of Legal Employers

Table 4. Is Billable Hours Credit Given for Pro Bono Work? — By Firm Size

Source: 2006-07 NALP Directory of Legal Employers

Table 5. Where Billable Hours Credit Given for Pro Bono Work —
Is There a Maximum That Will Be Credited? — By Firm Size

Source: 2006-07 NALP Directory of Legal Employers

Table 6. Maximum Number of Pro Bono Hours That May Be Credited Toward Billable Hours Requirements per Year — By Firm Size

Note: Percentages do not add to 100 because not all reported hours figures are shown. However, no other hours figure accounted for more than 2% of responses. Figures are based on 361 offices/firms that reported setting a maximum number of pro bono hours which can be credited toward billable hours, and that also reported the maximum.
Source: 2006-07 NALP Directory of Legal Employers

Table 7. Are Pro Bono Hours Equivalent to Billable Hours for Bonus Purposes? By Firm Size

Source: 2006-07 NALP Directory of Legal Employers

Table 8. Is There a Minimum Number of Pro Bono Hours Encouraged? — By Firm Size

Source: 2006-07 NALP Directory of Legal Employers

Table 9. Number of Pro Bono Hours that Are Encouraged — By Firm Size

Note: Percentages do not add to 100 because not all reported hours figures are shown. The figures shown are the five most commonly reported. No other figures accounted for more than 2% of responses. Figures are based on 459 offices/firms that reported encouraging a minimum number of pro bono hours and that also reported that number.
Source: 2006-2007 NALP Directory of Legal Employers