How to Bill Time as a Business Lawyer | New Lawyer Tips

Law school is just the beginning of a career of learning. I've practiced corporate law for over 20 years and I still work on perfecting my craft and becoming a better lawyer.
One skill I utilize daily but was never taught to me in law school is billing. How do you bill your time? How much detail do you put in your time reports? Do you itemize by project or by task?
Billing is one of those things you're just sort of expected to pick up. But, there are some nuances and best practices I'll share with you that can make your life a heck of a lot easier and your clients or partners you work for very happy with your work.
Watch the video and be sure to leave me your comments, questions or video suggestions!
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Have questions? Book a call, and talk to Brett today:
clarity.fm/brettcenkus
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You can reach Brett through:
clarity.fm/brettcenkus
/ brettcenkus
/ bcenkus
www.cenkuslaw.com
braatenwoods.com
merger-resources.com
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Brett A. Cenkus has 20+ years of experience in business law, finance, and entrepreneurship. Through Cenkus Law, PC, he provides advice and services for mergers & acquisitions (M&A), securities offerings, founders’ agreements, and other general business law issues.
Through Braaten Woods, LLC, Brett helps business owners in the lower middle market ($2MM - $25MM) position themselves for sale, find buyers, negotiate, and close M&A deals.
Brett also maintains merger-resources.com, a site packed with free articles, videos, checklists, deal diagrams, template contracts, and other tools to help pass M&A knowledge to others.
Brett regularly consults with entrepreneurs and invests his own capital as an angel investor.
From 2010-2013, Brett served as Chief Legal Counsel of a publicly-traded international oilfield services company. From 2001 to 2006, he and a partner founded and built Paragon Residential Mortgage. Bridge Investments acquired Paragon in 2006.
Brett holds a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania.
Brett lives in Austin with his wife, Cathryn, and two children. He enjoys reading, squash, classic movies, great food and wine, and the New England Patriots.
#corporatelaw #mergersandaquisitions #businesslaw #corporatelawyer

[@itsisa1319]

I’m a 5th year attorney. This is great advice and similar to the advice I’ve received along the way. It helped me keep my sanity with the annual requirement. Bill everything!

[@trjones93]

This is fantastic, clear advice. As a first year lawyer, this has been the most helpful guidance on billing I’ve received. Thanks!

[@BrettCenkus]

You're welcome, Thomas. Thank you for your feedback.

[@cindydownard]

I could appreciate. ."...agonized over email" 😅😅😅!!! Lololl. Clients sometimes won't understand why legal professionals use specific & detailed words...soo true. In the end ...the lawyers wording will protect them from some liabilities. ..and that's why it's soo crucial to be detailed in billing entries or any correspondence. Thank you Sir!😊

[@BrettCenkus]

Agreed!

[@bryanthompson12]

Great advice

[@ucsdgirl159]

Thanks for the pointers!

[@BrettCenkus]

You're welcome!

[@djmeeyoww3801]

I found your video extremely helpful! I was a Plaintiff PI paralegal for almost ten years, and now I’m on the other side-for only two weeks! Eeek! The only experience I’ve encountered with billable hours until now, were required by the Court for attorneys’ fee motions in work comp and PIP. Do you have any advice you like to give your paralegals regarding notating their time? I definitely keep a notepad of everything I do during the day, and I enter everything into our billing software before I leave every night. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for the informative video!

[@serga7486]

"i learned to actually be an attorney on youtube" is something i actually want to say one day (obviously after graduating law school lol)

[@jamescollins2638]

Can you do a video on how to improve at attention to detail and organization as a junior corporate associate

[@cynthiastoner5820]

Very helpful tips aand time saavers. Thank you

[@BrettCenkus]

You're welcome, Cynthia!

[@RTM950]

This is adequate advice for litigators also.

[@Sampromo]

Good morning and thank you for the video. I want to open a nurse staffing agency in Pennsylvania, can you please tell me what are the states requirements ?

[@danielduerst5067]

How about billing for time trying to justify the need for a ridiculous retainer over a clear and cut case involving a fence dispute?

[@BrettCenkus]

Any billing to justify a retainer is not okay. That said, litigation is rarely "clear and cut" since, generally speaking, each side needs to believe in the merits of their position to keep paying the legal bills. In other words, if the case is totally stacked against one party, they'd likely settle sooner than later unless one of two things are true - 1) they can't settle because they don't have the money to settle, although if they can pay their lawyers to litigate, they can usually find the money to settle, or 2) they know they have a bad position but they are so upset about how things went down that they will keep fighting based on principle. I don't see a lot of #2, although it's a thing. And when it's a thing, you should expect that the party fighting out of principle will come up with ways to make things difficult, which can turn a clear and cut case from a legal liability perspective into an administrative time (and money) suck from a practical perspective.

[@dangbiga2231]

How much?

[@BrettCenkus]

how much what, dang biga?

[@saqaleka]

Don’t say ‘researched’ . Self education is not billable and could get struck out

[@BrettCenkus]

Good suggestion. I use the term "research" sometimes, although somewhat sparingly for just this reason. If it's research that is unique, something I should not be expected to know, i.e., an issue where I think the client would understand why I don't know that, then I am not sensitive to using the term. If I am in a situation where I am sensitive to it, it's likely a non-billable situation anyway. There are times, though, where I may choose a word like "analyze" instead of research, e.g., "analyzed the difference between this statutory remedy vs. that statutory remedy). Again, for the reason that you point out. So, thank you for sharing your tip!

[@saqaleka]

Brett Cenkus I enjoyed your video. Please make more education/motivation videos for lawyers. There does not seem to be anyone on KZbin who owns this space yet.

[@BrettCenkus]

@@saqaleka thank you! I will keep the videos coming