Does Your Firm Measure and Reward the Non-Billable Time that Its Lawyers Invest in Marketing & Business Development Activities?

December 11, 2007

If a law firm wants its lawyers to invest non-billable time in marketing and business development activities, it should find ways to measure and reward the desired behavior. Many firms consider origination credit (i.e., the result of successful marketing effort) in determining lawyer compensation. Yet, few firms are willing to reward the effort. In addition to results, I recommend that firms reward the effort, as well…especially for younger lawyers. Otherwise, these non-billable activities tend to fall by the wayside. 106 readers participated in the survey. Most firms - 67% to be exact - measure non-billable time for partners and/or associates, while 29% do not. As to reward, 67% of participating firms factor origination credit into compensation, and only 27% consider effort. See the pie charts below for the complete breakdown.

Does Your Firm Measure the Non-Billable Time that Its Lawyers Invest in Marketing and Business Development Activities?

Does Your Firm Reward Effort or Result?