Junior lawyers at leading City law firms are regularly working well beyond standard hours, with many firms reporting their youngest staff routinely putting in over 12-hour days.
According to research by Legal Cheek on over 2,000 trainees and junior lawyers, the London offices of top US law firms are leading the table, which is consistent with the reputation for demanding the longest hours from junior staff.
There were 14 law firms listed, with an average finish time of 9 pm or later. Milbank topped the list, with lawyers reporting that they often worked around 13 hours a day, frequently leaving the office after 10 pm.
Among the English firms featured, two Magic Circle firms—Linklaters and Clifford Chance—stand out near the top, with their junior lawyers working more than 11 hours and 40 minutes each day.
One of the young lawyers quoted in the research said, “We are constantly on call and we cannot leave our phones at home for more than 20 minutes.”
Long hours for big pay
However, most junior lawyers at these firms—those newly qualified (NQ)—are paid salaries of over £100,000, with several of the top English firms offering salaries of £150,000.
The top salary in the City currently stands at £180,000, following the increase in NQ pay by US firms Gibson Dunn and Quinn Emanuel last year.
This comes after years of a pay war in the legal market over top talent, resulting from the significant investment US law firms are making across London.
However, last month, City law firm Addleshaw Goddard pulled out of the junior salary war by freezing pay for its NQs at £100,000 and relocating the extra £1m to its bonus pot.
The costs for lawyers continue to rise, from the bottom of the ladder all the way to the top, as law firm partners’ income has risen over twice as fast as the rest of the UK workforce over the last five years.