Where Do the Billable Hours Go in Law Firms by LexisNexis

Bridging The Gap: LexisNexis recently conducted a survey to better understand the gap between the number of hours legal professionals work versus the number of hours they actually bill for. Nearly 500 people responded, and we uncovered that the ability to bill time worked varies greatly by firm location and size. 33% Overall reported gap between hours TO: HOURS WORKED TO: HOURS BILLED worked and hours billed. 6.9 54% $180,000 The average lost yearly revenue for a 5 attorney firm. The difference between The reported average the highest and lowest hourly billing accuracy by state. number of billable hours worked (Assuming a $30O hourly rate) per day. Which Size Firms Bill Best? Firms with 11-20 attorney firms seem to have it figured out, and are billing a remarkable 92% of their time worked, while smaller firms (1-2 attorneys) are struggling to bill their time worked, perhaps because they have to wear so many hats. 1 Attorney Firm 40% Gap 40% Gap 2 Attorney Firm 24% Gap 3-5 Attorney Firm 26% Gap 6-10 Attorney Firm 8% Gap 11-20 Attorney Firm 27% Gap 20+ Attorney Firm TO: HOURS WORKED TO: HOURS BILLED Which States Bill Best? Firms in Delaware aren't wasting time, they are billing for 94% of their time worked. At the other end, Oregonians came in last, billing just 41% of their time. 5 Worst Billers 5 Best Billers Oregon Delaware 40.63% 94.44% Mississippi 2 88.55% Alabama 49.55% Kentucky 51.14% Illinois 3 85.74% Virginia 51.55% Rhode Island 4 83.78% South Dakota Wyoming 83.33% 55.26% In Summary: At the end of the day, few attorneys can bill for every minute worked. However, by looking closely at how time is spent working, attorneys can begin to bridge the gap of hours worked versus hours billed. The LexisNexis Billable Hour Survey only exposes the tip of the iceberg and we plan to drilldown further with future surveys to discover what is creating the gap. LexisNexis LexisNexis and the Knowledge Burst Logo are registered trademarks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used under license. © 2012 LexisNexis. All Rights Reserved.