Dirty little secret of practicing law

When I first started blogging, I was going to post this.  But, I lost my copy of the document.  Fortunately, Ray at Minor Wisdom had a copy, which he posted this weekend.  I really wish I had read that article before law school.

This article reminds me of a funny story.  A few months ago, I was speaking to a partner who works at another large New Orleans law firm.  It was his opinion that a 2100 billable-hour goal "makes liars our of people who would not ordinarily lie."  Really?  I suppose he is entitled to his opinion.

But what billable-hour goal, you might ask, did his firm set for their associates?

1980 hours.  Yes, 1980.  120 hours less than 2100.  Or, 10 hours less a month.  Or, 2.5 hours less per week (47-weeks a year).  Or, 30-minutes less per day (5-days a week, 47-weeks a year).

So - in his mind -  the difference between being honest and being a liar is 30-minutes per day?  Questions abound.

I wanted to ask him why he thought his firm's 1980-hour goal permitted his associates to remain honest. And why a 2100-hour goal turned associates into liars.  I wanted to ask him if that 30-minutes a day represented maximum efficiency.  Could his firm require (for example) 2000 hours - 6 more minutes of work a day - and still keep their associates honest?  What about 2025 - 12 more minutes of work a day?  Additionally, did he think he could make more money as a law-firm-efficiency consultant instead of as a lawyer?  (Indeed, his numbers were precise).

I wanted to inquire about so many things.  Alas, I failed to ask the hard follow-up questions.