Lawyers Need Hours Cap, Vacations for Pandemic Stress, Bar Says

Big Law should cap lawyer work hours and encourage vacations to improve job satisfaction that worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic, a New York State Bar Association panel said.

Firms should consider capping annual billable hours at 1,800 and urge attorneys to take the “full allotment” of their vacation and parental leave time, the panel said in a 165-page report approved by the bar’s House of Delegates.

The profession should view the findings as “illuminating, sobering, and ultimately galvanizing,” the Task Force on Attorney Well-Being said in the report. “We must move beyond blame and shame.”

The report comes amid mounting ...