Elsberg Baker & Maruri partner Michael Duke spoke with Law360 on his advice for associates looking to hit or exceed their billable hour goals for 2025. His suggestions begin with finding the right work. “Become a subject-matter expert,” Duke advised. “Partners will return repeatedly to associates who know a particular piece of the case inside and out. This expertise provides associates opportunities to demonstrate excellence and dependability, which will snowball into additional work as they gain the trust of the partners.”
Duke says associates should expand variety of cases and matters associates take on. “Skill building… increases the value an associate can provide on a team. It is important, however, not to stretch yourself too thin, as the surest way to fewer hours is to lose the trust of the partners through shoddy work,” he said.
He added that associates should be open to doing “grunt work.” When associates do the less glamorous work on a case, they are more likely to be rewarded with more opportunities, especially for stand-up roles," he said.
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