The Gazette 1967/71

for each profit loss) sharing principal based on previous experience and ad justed as necessary as a target for the year. Each employee/fee earner has an actual salary. Fee earners' salaries (including principals hour which he should earn to produce his salary plus the appropriate proportion of general overheads allocated to him on the basis of an agreed number of working hours per annum. (2) The time-cost factor of a fee earner is the amount per salaries) are treated as expenses of the practice. (3) For recording purposes time is shown in units of 6 minutes (10 to the hour). (or

3. Set up time recording system for each fee earner using the Solicitors Law Stationery OYEZ SYSTEM He records on a daily work sheet, the time spent on each matter handled with code letters to indicate the class of business as in 1 above and also non-chargeable time. A specimen daily work sheet is shown in appendix 2. 4. A job sheet for each case is compiled from the fee earners' daily work sheets showing the position in the office, the time cost factor and the number of hours spent on the matter when finished by each fee earner. The cost of the job to the office is found by multiplying the number of time units which each fee earner spends on the job by his time cost factor per unit and totalling the whole. Job sheets are kept in suitable loose leaf ledger or folders while the cases are current. On completion or when a final or interim bill is to be furnished the job sheet is totalled and disbursements are added. From this the time cost in money terms is readily available, which as already stat ed is a relevant but not the only factor in preparing the bill. 5. The system does not purport to regulate the fee charged for each case. Some jobs may be done at less than cost, others at more. The system shows the relation of fees charged to cost of each job to the office on the basis of pre-determined basic salaries of each profit (or loss) sharing principal and actual salaries of other fee earners and ascertained overhead expenses. In other words it indicates for each job the minimum fee which ought to be earned to cover the expenses of doing it. This is not necessarily the fee which will be charged. 6. The fee to be charged in each case is ascertained by a principal or other fee earner in accordance with office practice by reference to a commission scale fee, schedule 2 or bill of costs taxed or not as dictated by the circumstances and also having regard to the job sheet for the case which shows the cost of doing it. 50

Any fraction of a unit less than 3 minutes should be recorded as half a unit. Example 2 minute phone call -2 unit, 4 minute call - 1 unit. Chargeable working hours per annum are calculated thus

Year Less Vacation 4 weeks

52 wks.

Xmas & Easter

1 week

Illness, bank holidays & occasional absence

1-J weeks

6-J- wks. 45J- wks per annum

35 hours per week 9 a.m. +n 5.30 p.m. (less la- hours) - Deduct 20% for non- chargeable time

1592 hours per annum

318 1274 say 1275 hours per annum. (12750 units)