By Diane L. Camacho bio
As I work with small law firms and solo attorneys, I see time and time again, attorneys doing work and not getting paid for it. It isn’t marketing or CLE sessions that I’m talking about. It is work that you can’t bill for and someone else can do for you—someone who is an expert in their field.
For example, let’s say your firm has decided they need a new time and billing system and your partner wants to lead the project. Here’s a modest estimate of time needed for a software roll-out. (Remember, there are hundreds of variables that can increase the time it takes. Some of these projects take on a life of their own and people find they spend hours upon hours focusing on them.)
| Email colleagues on what they use/review responses/respond: | 0.5 | |
| Web research on same: | 2.0 | |
| Demos of 3 products: | 5.0 | |
| Summary of findings to report to partners: | 0.5 | |
| Contract review and execution: | 0.5 | |
| Meetings regarding customization: | 8.0 | |
| Coordination of 3-month project (1 hour a week): | 12.0 | |
| Roll-out week: | 20.0 | |
| Questions, comments, complaints following roll-out: | 10.0 | |
| Total: | 61.5 hours | |
| Billing rate of $350 per hour x 61.5 = cost to firm: | $21,525.00 |
On the other hand, if you hire someone or have someone on staff who can handle the project, here’s the time a partner may spend overseeing the project:
| Meetings, emails, partner discussions: | 12.0 hours | |
| Total: | 12.0 hours | |
| Billing rate of $350 per hour x 12 = cost to firm: | $4,200.00 |
Ask yourself
- If you had to pay a project manager half the difference, would you hire him/her?
- What would you rather do with your time?
- Is the managing of this project gaining new clients?
- Is the managing of this project reducing your stress?
Conclusion
The next time you need to manage a non-billable project, such as an office move, software implementation, systemize your office so everyone does it the same way and efficiently, re-brand your firm, put on a client event, or any number of time-consuming tasks you can’t bill for, hire an expert. You have better things to do with your time than manage non-billable projects.
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