any other lawyers help me with this worry at work please?!

[realEstate]

For a few years, maybe four, I’ve not had loads of work to do. I’m around 6 years PQE. I do business rather than family etc. Trying not to be too specific! I’m not paid huge amounts for a lawyer though work for a reasonably well known firm. I’m on 70k. I know I could get more elsewhere.

anyway, huge chunks of my day are spent doing research or training online. Some months I bill what I need to (miraculously!) but even then a lot of the day is non chargeable work. I do give the impression I am enthusiastic and keen so probably present as very invested but I can’t actually remember a time when I did the full chargeable hours target in a day.

is anyone else in a similar boat? I am actually quite ok with this at the moment as I have two toddlers so the less stress the better! But I do worry about job security a lot and I like the firm and I don’t want to move. It’s been like this for so long. Is this just what it’s like in a mid to large firm? I have no other workplace to compare it to. For context the firm is making huge profits so it’s definitely ok from that perspective.

Also before anyone thinks I’m in property due to my username, it’s actually not that area! That department is always extremely busy though.

Have you posted about this before? Sounds very familiar.

Last year I was on 50% utilisation, this year I’m on 40%. The markets are so so quiet, hopefully will pick up after summer.

I work in what sounds to be a similar sized firm and have never had this. I’ve always been at 100% or thereabouts, as have colleagues in my team as we can see each other’s stats. But if your firm aren’t raising it, then presumably they don’t have a problem with it? If you are doing research, is it for your own files or the wider team/firm? If the latter perhaps you are being viewed as a professional skills lawyer, even if only on an informal basis.

If work aren’t raising it as an issue, I’d just carry on as you are - chargeable hours are the bane of my life!

Unless you’re working long hours (which it doesn’t sound like) it’s pretty sure that you won’t make your targets. If they’re not doing anything that’s fine imo.

I used to be in exactly this situation but since working 3 days a week, I am busy enough. It is disconcerting though and I do worry that I'm not doing enough to progress my career during those times. Not sure what the answer is other than raising it with your manager (which I've never been brave enough to do!)

I don’t have much experience as I worked in litigation, but when I did my seat in banking they would talk about their fallow periods and their crazy busy periods and it was just accepted that you went through quiet times but were expected to step up to the insane hours.
This was partly what I preferred about litigation - the hours were much more regular and the only time it was very busy was just before a big trial, but only if you were a bit disorganised!

@SwanRivers maybe a couple of years ago, I can’t remember! It’s been an ongoing concern though.

Not really sure why it matters if i have posted before, though? Are there no other threads you could reply to with a worthwhile contribution?!

@bunnypenny thanks, do you feel your job is secure? I go from panicking to feeling calm in the space of one day sometimes!

@HDready i take it upon myself to read i to areas just to fill the day. I’d say I’m working around 25% of the target. It does make me anxious but the firm is performing well overall.

I work in the public sector now (no time recording and no fee targets - worth every penny). When I was in private practice I had some spells where my chargeables were a bit lower. My firm was also constantly on at me to be bringing clients in and do more BD, despite me constantly telling them a) that I wanted to attend BD events with more senior colleagues (I was very junior) and not being given the opportunity and b) having zero client network because all my networking opportunities were with other young lawyers. Not sure if BD is an option for you but maybe worth looking into so at least if your chargeables are lower you've got something else you can point to - I.e potential new clients?

Do you get on with any of the head honchos and/or what do you do for the firm with all the non-chargeable time? They will definitely be aware of your hours/utilisation but if there isn't the work (and is the rest of the department is similarly quiet) you need to be showing some initiative - what BD and marketing are you doing, for example. Could you write an article, organise a client event or webinar.

My question is not mean spirited, but what's the point in asking this? Almost every thread has someone asking this question.

Lots of different people come across similar issues, thus not surprising we see similar threads being posted.

I am a former Partner in a medium sized City firm.

The utilisation of all associates will be tracked carefully by the firm’s management, on a monthly basis. If it is low, management will be putting the partners in your team under pressure to increase instructions or reduce headcount. Your figures will be discussed regularly in partners’ meetings.

Ebbs and flows in workflow are usually accounted for by looking at targets on a yearly basis before taking any action, but you say this has been going on for several years. I’m bemused as to why it has never been raised in an appraisal. Either you have a Partner who is sticking up for you vis à vis management without your knowledge (do you have very specialist technical skills, or a strong relationship with one key client?) or the firm is managed vey very badly. If the latter, you and all your colleagues will probably be out of a job soon. You say the firm is doing well though- do you have any personal insight into which areas/Partners are performing well? If not yours, then I would be wary of taking much comfort from that. Successful partners don’t tend to like carrying unsuccessful ones for too long.

Is your team still recruiting NQs? It’s possible that they are under pressure on rates and at 6 PQE you are getting too expensive. At that level of PQE you should also be having discussions about career development, moving towards very early stages of partnership track or making sure you understand alternative roles like Legal Director. These discussions would absolutely have to touch on utilisation.

You may as well be brave and ask your line manager to discuss this with you. It is impossible that they have not noticed your figures. Either they will explain why the management strategy accommodates low utilisation (and put your mind at rest), they will put in motion a plan to feed you more work or they will signal that you should be looking elsewhere and save you the shock of them deciding that in what might seem to you to be out of the blue. To be honest, burying your head in the sand is an indicator that you don’t understand how law firm finances work, and that makes you less attractive as a long term associate with promotion prospects.

It’s not your fault that the work is not there though, and your firm has done you no favours from an HR and line management perspective. Having no chargeable work is a miserable place to be in terms of work quality and job satisfaction, so you may be much happier in a firm with a better business model, or pivoting to a new area of practice. Or look at Knowledge Management or in-house. Good luck.

It’s probably easier to keep you there as you are likeable and doing research etc as extra capacity so if they suddenly get busy you are there immediately easier than having to panic hire.

Four years is pushing it for that though.

It does seem very surprising that they haven't said anything or had redundancies if utilisation is that low. It sounds quite nice though to be able to get away with this for years! I've been well over 100% utilisation for last year and for this ytd so yeah I would like to swap for a bit 🤣

You mention 2 toddlers- twins or 2 back to back pregnancies?

You must have been on mat leave for some of the last 4 years you mention?

Is it possible they have not managed your return to work properly? Eg long term big matters already have full teams and no new work to slot you into?

Also if you have had 2 mat leaves then while you are still technically 6 years PQE they will be aware you have less hands-on experience than someone who had worked all 6 years so they may be treating you skills-wise as on a par with more junior lawyers. That could be an advantage or disadvantage depending on lots of factors.

@Unopenedpackofmenssocks thanks for this insight, it is helpful!

The partners in my team are very chilled. They seem to be confident we are always about to land another huge job. Sometimes we do, then it boosts the hours but it’s always temporary.

They have just recruited an nq and she started last month. Do you think she has been brought in to replace me?!

Increasing headcount needs management sign off. As a rule, you don’t get sign off when you have under-utilised associates who could do the work. Perhaps they have been able to make a case that all the new work is for very junior people who can be charged out very cheaply. With NQs there is also a very long term approach of creating a pipeline so perhaps a slightly lower threshold. Ask them how they see you and the new recruit working together.

I would be very worried in your shoes, peaks and troughs are normal but sustained periods of being well below target are concerning and I am amazed you aren't either on performance management or notice of redundancy or being seconded to a busier team.

I would start talking to your supervising partner about your capacity and what you can usefully do with your spare time. You should be able to pick some work up elsewhere or do some BD or training to make yourself useful and protect yourself.

This would be very unusual in my firm. If I dipped below 85% utilisation for a sustained period of time it would trigger a catch up with my supervisor to check everything was ok and to re-allocate work if needed.

It may be that your team consider you to be adding value in other ways, or it may be a poorly managed department. I would be arranging a meeting with my supervisor to discuss. Even if they say everything is fine and they accept people aren’t busy, it would give you the opportunity to ask if there is more you could be doing in terms of BD or personal development.

Do you have any idea how other people in your department are managing? I would be worried about them bringing in an NQ if people already in the team are only at 25% utilisation. See if you can find out what your colleagues’ utilisation is. Our financial systems record this and you can see the utilisation of anyone in your team, is you’re the same?