Question:
Do I enter time on a case if
all I am doing is briefly brainstorming with a lawyer about his or her
case?
Answer:
Yes. Every task you do, even
if it does not take much time, matters for purposes of the Work Measurement
Study and should be accurately recorded in defenderData.
Brainstorming inevitably involves a
subject, that can be associated with a task. To bill these meetings, find the
task code that is most representative of the subject of your brainstorming
session. For example, did you help a colleague brainstorm about which issues to
raise on appeal for his client? If so, bill to APP02, Conduct Appellate
Research (WorkCenterDescription 13.2.03 (consult with peers, paralegals, RWS).
Are you together weighing the
merits of a pretrial motion to suppress evidence, and discussing Fourth
Amendment theories? If so, ATTY08, Research and Draft Motions / Habeas
Pleadings) would be the appropriate task code.
The general term
"brainstorming" does not fairly reflect the work we do to defend a
case, and in the past has lead to non-descriptive billing. (It is part of the
reason that "MOTH" - "Meeting / Other" was the most-popular
billing code for the last decade). "Brainstorming" was deliberately
omitted from the new task codes, to encourage us all to better describe the actual
work we're doing to serve our clients.
.
