When we created the Valorem website, we boldly declared that "The Billable Hour Is Dead." It was a bold statement, clearly relying on the "dead man walking" concept. Today, a former partner and still friend of mine brought this blog post to our attention (Thanks Debra!): Billable Hour Admitted To Hospital. It is riotous. Here’s a sample:
Look, it’s no secret that the billable hour suffered an intense loss when his good friend mortgage-backed securities essentially passed away in early 2008,” explained legal commentator David Lat during an interview with Fox & Friends. “Now, people are turning on old billable hour while the economy’s in the toilet and he’s got nowhere to turn. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the billable hour tried to take his own life.”
A small candlelight vigil for the billable hour has already started to take shape outside of the Lenox Hill hospital. “I came here out of respect for a dear, dear friend,” explained White & Case LLP partner Leslie Davenworth. “People may say things like ‘the billable hour is dead’, but as someone whose ascent to partnership was based solely on my logging of 2,500 or more hours per year, I refuse to believe it. I’ve just become too attached to my good friend to say goodbye right now.”
The post is from Litination. (By the way, the Associate Photo captions are worth a visit.)