Long hours for lawyers

Junior lawyers at a US firm work on average for more than 14 hours a day, clocking in from
9.19am to 11.11pm. Starting salaries verging on £180,000 p.a. translate to brutal working
hours.

Recent press reports of 60 or 70 hour weeks for young lawyers in the UK in exchange for
huge starting salaries, have brought into focus how long the working week should be.

In a perfect world a lawyer, or anyone else running a business, should be able to make a
reasonable living and profit working a 40 hour week but, in the real world, any self-employed
person will tell you that is often not realistic.

There comes a point, however, when you are not working to live, but living to work. Also,
unless a lawyer or anybody else gets a decent break, they will start making mistakes and not
perform at their top level. Some firms now insist that employees a two week break or need
not answer emails after working hours.

Ask yourself before you contact him in the evening: if you want your lawyer to be sharp and
on the ball, give him a break!

Rodney Hylton-Potts