Many law firms do not hold their attorneys to strictly identified vacation or personal days. Associates are often expected to reach their billable-hours goals, manage their deadlines, complete their assignments and, in theory, take vacations at appropriate times. Yet, somehow even in the cold winter months when the courthouse pace noticeably slows, associates who have not planned well in advance often find themselves working away during the holidays. Workflow, to a certain degree, is beyond an associate’s control, but with a little bit of planning, it is possible to carve out some time for family and festivities during the holidays.
Map Out Your Deadlines
The first step in taking any vacation, regardless of the time of year, is to get an idea of when you would like to take your vacation and identify all known major deadlines around that time. Ideally, you could identify your desired vacation time about six months in advance. Even though you cannot identify all possible major work obligations that far out, you can mark the vacation days in your calendar. As deadlines begin making their way to your calendar, you can work to shape those deadlines to accommodate your vacation time. A court or opposing party is more likely to accommodate a vacation when you are discussing the deadlines, rather than moving that deadline later because you want to take time off.
