Morgan Lewis Ditches Billable Hours Requirement for Bonuses

Morgan Lewis & Bockius is revising its bonus system that had relied on billable hours to determine which associates get the year-end reward.

The old system required a minimum of 2,000 billable hours. The new system for the 2009 fiscal year is merit-based, the National Law Journal reports. Above the Law broke the news when it published a Morgan Lewis memo explaining the new system.

“In deciding on bonuses, we will look at the entire picture of an associate's contribution, including level of engagement, efficiency and value in serving clients, excellence, results achieved, contribution to our culture, participation in our programs, and other factors,” the memo says.

The firm said it will still give substantial weight to the 2,000 billable hours goal, which includes pro bono hours. However, associates who bill more hours in a year will not be guaranteed a bonus, and those who bill less will not be precluded from receiving one, the memo said.