Best practice

For fee earners: making Workzilla part of your week

Fee earner My Performance My Portfolio Targets Performance Efficiency Revenue

Three habits that help fee earners stay on top of performance, keep files moving, and reduce unbilled work — without adding much time to the week.

Why this matters

Fee earners who check in regularly are better prepared for conversations with their team leader, less likely to be caught off guard at month end, and more likely to hit their targets. The data is there — the habit is what makes it useful.

In practice

Check your performance before it matters

5 min — twice a week + before any 1:1

Real world example

Tom Chen has a fortnightly 1:1 with his team leader. He opens My Performance on Monday morning, checks his numbers, and reviews his own target progression without the need to ask his team leader or practice manager to pull a report. He arrives at his 1:1 with a clear picture of his numbers and a specific question about where to focus.

Start your day with your portfolio

5–10 min — 3 times a week

Real world example

Aisha Patel checks her stagnant files on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. On Monday she spots a matter that hasn't had a fee entry in 31 days. She realises there is outstanding work to record — she adds the timesheets and the file moves. Without the check, it would have sat there until her practice manager flagged it.

Know what's sitting unbilled

5 min — once or twice a week

Real world example

David Nguyen checks his Outstanding WIP every few days and keeps his unbilled work moving. At any point his oldest WIP is rarely more than two to three weeks old — well below the 30-day-plus average common across many firms.

None of these habits take long. Ten minutes a few times a week, applied consistently, is usually the difference between being reactive at month end and staying ahead of it.