Some juniors face long days, late finishes, and an ‘always available’ culture, highlighting the demanding nature of a life in corporate law
Amid the impressive paychecks, sleek office spaces, and enviable perks at the UK’s top law firms, there’s also — whisper it — a substantial amount of hard work happening behind the scenes.
By anonymously surveying over 2,000 trainees and junior lawyers, Legal Cheek takes look at the working hours and patterns at more than 100 law firms with offices in the UK.
This year, working hours have remained broadly level, with a slight overall increase compared to last year’s data. However, individual firms have seen significant fluctuations, with the average workday extending or shortening by up to one or two hours. These shifts come amid varied market conditions across practice areas, a stronger emphasis on work-life balance in some firms amid burnout concerns, and substantial salary increases at others.
Leading the pack in working hours are the London offices of a host of US law firms, where junior lawyers can clock over 13 hours daily, in some cases finishing after 10:30pm. It’s no surprise that these firms are among the top payers, with some offering newly qualified solicitor (NQ) salaries starting at over £170k. In total there are 11 firms with an average finish work time of after 9pm (see the table below for the full breakdown).
But life in the legal field isn’t all 13-hour days and Deliveroo dinners. On the other end of the spectrum, lawyers at many corporate firms wrap up their days around 5:30pm, with 14 firms boasting finish times pre-6pm.
So, how does your dream firm measure up? The full list of timings, ranked from the latest to earliest leaving time, can be found below. These figures will, of course, fluctuate depending on the particular department a junior works in, and the demand at any given time. You can also see the average start time of juniors, and the length of an average day, ranging from an ordinary 9-5 eight hour shift, all the way up to 12 hours and beyond.
Legal Cheek Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey 2024-25 — average start and finish times + average working hours
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| LAW FIRM | AVERAGE START TIME | AVERAGE FINISH TIME | AVERAGE WORKING DAY |
| Weil Gotshal & Manges | 9:14am | 10:37pm | 13 hours 23 minutes |
| Kirkland & Ellis | 9:28am | 10:31pm | 13 hours 3 minutes |
| Paul Hastings | 9:28am | 10:06pm | 12 hours 38 minutes |
| Ropes & Gray | 9:31am | 9:56pm | 12 hours 25 minutes |
| Fried Frank | 9:26am | 9:45pm | 12 hours 19 minutes |
| Winston & Strawn | 9:28am | 9:35pm | 12 hours 07 minutes |
| Milbank | 9:18am | 9:22pm | 12 hours 4 minutes |
| Goodwin Procter | 9:22am | 9:18pm | 11 hours 56 minutes |
| Dechert | 9:08am | 9:14pm | 12 hours 06 minutes |
| Latham & Watkins | 9:15am | 9:14pm | 11 hours 59 minutes |
| Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton | 9:06am | 9:05pm | 11 hours 59 minutes |
| Sidley Austin | 9:34am | 8:55pm | 11 hours 21 minutes |
| Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer | 9:23am | 8:54pm | 11 hours 31 minutes |
| Jones Day | 9:11am | 8:53pm | 11 hours 42 minutes |
| Sullivan & Cromwell | 9:41am | 8:53pm | 11 hours 12 minutes |
| Linklaters | 9:12am | 8:51pm | 11 hours 39 minutes |
| Clifford Chance | 9:24am | 8:49pm | 11 hours 25 minutes |
| White & Case | 9:25am | 8:48pm | 11 hours 23 minutes |
| Debevoise & Plimpton | 9:46am | 8:47pm | 11 hours 01 minutes |
| Gibson Dunn | 9:18am | 8:46pm | 11 hours 28 minutes |
| Willkie Farr & Gallagher | 9:34am | 8:35pm | 11 hours 1 minutes |
| Morrison Foerster | 9:24am | 8:31pm | 11 hours 7 minutes |
| Simmons & Simmons | 9:01am | 8:30pm | 11 hours 29 minutes |
| A&O Shearman | 9:25am | 8:28pm | 11 hours 3 minutes |
| Mayer Brown | 9:19am | 8:22pm | 11 hours 3 minutes |
| Davis Polk & Wardwell | 9:43am | 8:20pm | 10 hours 37 minutes |
| Cooley | 8:55am | 8:17pm | 11 hours 22 minutes |
| Akin Gump | 9:14am | 8:07pm | 10 hours 53 minutes |
| Greenberg Traurig | 9:11am | 8:02pm | 10 hours 51 minutes |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | 9:07am | 7:56pm | 10 hours 49 minutes |
| Baker McKenzie | 9:07am | 7:55pm | 10 hours 48 minutes |
| Herbert Smith Freehills | 9:16am | 7:54pm | 10 hours 38 minutes |
| Ashurst | 9:18am | 7:54pm | 10 hours 36 minutes |
| Vinson & Elkins | 9:17am | 7:50pm | 10 hours 33 minutes | Macfarlanes | 9:11am | 7:49pm | 10 hours 38 minutes |
| Slaughter and May | 9:17am | 7:43pm | 10 hours 26 minutes |
| Morgan Lewis | 9:13am | 7:42pm | 10 hours 29 minutes |
| Orrick | 9:00am | 7:34pm | 10 hours 34 minutes |
| BCLP | 9:05am | 7:31pm | 10 hours 26 minutes |
| Reed Smith | 9:20am | 7:30pm | 10 hours 10 minutes |
| Travers Smith | 9:16am | 7:28pm | 10 hours 12 minutes |
| Watson Farley & Williams | 9:16am | 7:23pm | 10 hours 7 minutes |
| Hogan Lovells | 9:18am | 7:16pm | 9 hours 58 minutes |
| Stephenson Harwood | 9:06am | 7:15pm | 10 hours 9 minutes |
| DLA Piper | 8:37am | 7:14pm | 10 hours 37 minutes |
| Taylor Wessing | 9:00am | 7:13pm | 10 hours 13 minutes |
| Wiggin | 9:03am | 7:05pm | 10 hours 2 minutes |
| Bird & Bird | 9:09am | 7:04pm | 9 hours 55 minutes |
| K&L Gates | 9:15am | 7:04pm | 9 hours 49 minutes |
| HFW | 9:18am | 7:04pm | 9 hours 46 minutes |
| Katten Muchin Rosenman | 9:01am | 7:03pm | 10 hours 2 minutes |
| Withers | 8:53am | 7:00pm | 10 hours 07 minutes |
| Mischon de Reya | 8:58am | 6:59pm | 10 hours 1 minutes |
| RPC | 9:06am | 6:59pm | 9 hours 53 minutes |
| Dentons | 8:56am | 6:51pm | 9 hours 55 minutes |
| Gowling WLG | 8:57am | 6:51pm | 9 hours 54 minutes |
| Bates Wells | 9:05am | 6:48pm | 9 hours 43 minutes |
| Bristows | 9:07am | 6:45pm | 9 hours 38 minutes |
| Squire Patton Boggs | 8:48am | 6:42pm | 9 hours 54 minutes |
| CMS | 8:57am | 6:42pm | 9 hours 45 minutes |
| Winckworth Sherwood | 9:05am | 6:42pm | 9 hours 37 minutes |
| Harbottle & Lewis |
9:19am | 6:42pm | 9 hours 23 minutes |
| Charles Russell Speechlys | 9:08am | 6:39pm | 9 hours 31 minutes |
| Eversheds Sutherland | 8:44am | 6:38pm | 9 hours 54 minutes |
| Addleshaw Goddard | 8:49am | 6:31pm | 9 hours 42 minutes |
| Forsters | 9:14am | 6:30pm | 9 hours 16 minutes |
| Pinsent Masons | 8:58am | 6:29pm | 9 hours 31 minutes |
| Wedlake Bell | 9:07am | 6:28pm | 9 hours 21 minutes |
| Howard Kennedy | 9:15am | 6:27pm | 9 hours 12 minutes |
| Burges Salmon | 8:48am | 6:25pm | 9 hours 37 minutes |
| Clyde & Co | 8:58am | 6:24pm | 9 hours 26 minutes |
| Kingsley Napley | 8:58am | 6:24pm | 9 hours 26 minutes |
| Hill Dickinson | 8:42am | 6:23pm | 9 hours 41 minutes |
| Lewis Silkin | 9:01am | 6:23pm | 9 hours 22 minutes |
| Farrer & Co | 9:08am | 6:23pm | 9 hours 15 minutes |
| Payne Hicks Beach | 8:47am | 6:21pm | 9 hours 34 minutes |
| Walker Morris | 8:16am | 6:20pm | 10 hours 04 minutes |
| Kennedys | 8:48am | 6:17pm | 9 hours 29 minutes |
| Osborne Clarke | 9:05am | 6:17pm | 9 hours 12 minutes |
| Shoosmiths | 8:47am | 6:13pm | 9 hours 26 minutes |
| Stevens & Bolton | 8:45am | 6:12pm | 9 hours 27 minutes |
| Gateley | 8:48am | 6:12pm | 9 hours 24 minutes |
| Trowers & Hamlins | 8:51am | 6:11pm | 9 hours 20 minutes |
| Michelmores | 8:45am | 6:07pm | 9 hours 22 minutes |
| DWF Group Plc | 8:43am | 6:04pm | 9 hours 21 minutes |
| Accutrainee | 8:55am | 6:04pm | 9 hours 9 minutes |
| Foot Anstey | 8:47am | 6:03pm | 9 hours 16 minutes |
| Russell-Cooke | 9:13am | 6:02pm | 8 hours 49 minutes |
| Penningtons Manches Cooper | 8:48am | 6:01pm | 9 hours 13 minutes |
| DAC Beachcroft | 8:54am | 6:01pm | 9 hours 7 minutes |
| TLT | 8:45am | 6:00pm | 9 hours 15 minutes |
| Birketts | 8:54am | 5:56pm | 9 hours 2 minutes |
| Mills & Reeve | 8:42am | 5:53pm | 9 hours 11 minutes |
| Cripps | 8:52am | 5:53pm | 9 hours 1 minutes |
| Womble Bond Dickinson | 8:38am | 5:52pm | 9 hours 14 minutes |
| Irwin Mitchell | 8:35am | 5:51pm | 9 hours 16 minutes |
| Shakespeare Martineau | 8:39am | 5:46pm | 9 hours 7 minutes |
| RWK Goodman | 8:52am | 5:45pm | 8 hours 53 minutes |
| Fletchers | 8:39am | 5:44pm | 9 hours 5 minutes |
| Ashfords | 8:48am | 5:44pm | 8 hours 56 minutes |
| Bevan Brittan | 8:50am | 5:43pm | 8 hours 53 minutes |
| Brabners | 8:45am | 5:42pm | 8 hours 57 minutes |
| Weightmans | 8:53am | 5:37pm | 8 hours 44 minutes |
| Moore Barlow | 8:50am | 5:26pm | 8 hours 36 minutes |
| Express Solicitors | 8:16am | 5:24pm | 9 hours 8 minutes |
As part of the survey, we also received hundreds of anonymous comments about working hours. For those looking at the upper end of the table, some words of advice:
“Perhaps the toughest part is the ‘always available’ culture — you’re expected to answer calls at ungodly hours or on days off — but hey, that’s what they pay you for.”
“Don’t make me laugh. I haven’t seen sunlight in three months”
“I generally do not log off before 11pm and I regularly work weekends”
“Weekends and holidays are honoured (unless there are emergencies) and your time is mostly respected. However, when work calls you are expected to answer.”
It’s not all bad news elsewhere, however:
“Work life balance is probably the biggest perk of this firm… I don’t feel the need to check my emails or work phone in the evening”
“The work life balance could not be better”.
“There is a real emphasis on not working long hours and prioritising health”
“I am comfortably able to make plans with my friends and family outside of work”
Although this can come at a (literal) price:
“Better work/life balance than a lot of other commercial firms but then our pay also reflects that”