Stinson's Director of Well-Being Discusses Impact of Billable Hour, Mental Health in Lexis Nexis Report

02.02.2023

Stinson LLP Director of Well-Being Krista Larson is featured in a recent Lexis Nexis report, "Calling time on the billable hour," discussing the pros and cons and current impact of billable hours on attorney well-being and diversity.

Law firms have relied on the billable hour model for decades, but the billing model continues to attract criticism for how it incentives attorneys. Reaching billable hour targets can be a stressful experience and is often cited as a cause of the industry's relatively high rate of mental health challenges.

"While it's certainly true that months and years on end billing tons and tons of hours is typically a recipe for burnout and other well-being challenges, it's not accurate to put all of the blame on the billable hour," Larson says. "While the billable hour might be applicable to every attorney, the disparate part is the impact of non-billable work that tends to disproportionately fall on underrepresented lawyers and that's the piece that really needs to be taken into consideration."

In addition to examining the pros and cons of the billable hour model, the report discusses the future of the current billing model, the challenges of pricing matters when using alternative billing structures, and how trends focusing on workplace culture and attorney well-being are likely to develop in the future. 

Larson leads the implementation of Stinson's vision, strategy and programming to support the health and well-being of all constituents of the firm in alignment with the firm's values and its American Bar Association Well-Being Pledge. She also partners with firm and executive leadership on well-being strategy and initiatives.

Read the full report.