The ABA eJournal reports that a California law firm must pay a former associate $1.1 million for firing him when he failed to meet the firm's billable hour minimums. While the firm and the former associate still dispute the reasons why the lawyer was fired, the jury believed the associate: It seems that few associates ever met the firm billable minimums, but that the dismissed associate was the only one fired for missing the targets. And he missed those targets because he was being treated for liver disease. Methinks the firm has a bit to learn about practice management!
First, billable minimums are a double-edged sword. If you are going to have them, enforce them. If not, fugetaboutem! Most professionals do not need target minimums if they are being properly utilized and appreciated within the firm.
Second, never fire an employee in the midst of expensive medical treatment because everyone will assume that you are doing it to save on future medical premium increases on the firm's group health insurance policy. As this jury seemed to believe, that just isn't the way we treat people, whether or not the letter of the law was or was not followed.
Finally, well-crafted and articulated firm policies and philosophy could have prevented this whole incident. It takes time and effort to create such policies and to cultivate a more positive firm culture that would obviate such lawsuits. And, yes, that investment of time would otherwise be billable time, but I highly doubt it would be $1.1 million worth of unbillable time. That doesn't even take into account the cost to firm morale and reputation.
