As someone said, there are ups and downs – some days I finish at 6pm, other days at 11pm. Work after midnight has been very rare (maybe once a month). Though some of my colleagues have not been as lucky

Weekends and holidays are generally respected. Departments are also different – I work with nice and reasonable people and am yet to experience an all nighter (constant all nighters was one of my biggest fears about this job).

Financial freedom makes it worth it.

Indeed, it would be much more informative if we could see the variance and skew of the data too.

The busy times are no worse than what a lot of people do during exam season at uni, to be fair. The point US Lawyer was making is that the busy times are not representative of what you’ll be doing every day.

“Bro just ignore the busy times and it’s not bad”

Stellar advice, would pay £1,300 per hour for this.

Equally in other areas (advisory, litigation) the hours can be more consistent 7:30 finishes, 8:00 finishes, although you have to be available in the evening.

It’s not as bad as this looks, and I’ve found things far less consistently long/ painful than I did as a student. Don’t be put off by the average times – I almost was, but they’re in many ways less informative than you might otherwise think.

It is sensible, in my view. Means they are out of the door in time to cook a proper dinner, meet with friends, go to the gym, etc. Look at all the losers who have to stay in after 7pm wasting their whole lives working.

Thoroughly agree. Law firms are massive pyramid scheme, where juniors slave away for the benefit of overpaid and overfed partners. Time for Gen Z to wake up and demand better.

What nice things Alan?

Their official start time is at 8:30am. If you’re not prim and proper at your computer by 8:30am, you’ll be asked why by HR. They automatically record employees fob in and outs throughout all the day. If you fob in at 8:30am, then that obviously means you aren’t sat at your computer working at 8:30am, so expect to be pulled in front on HR or big daddy James if it happens a few times to explain how you will make that extra 5 minutes up to the company. However, if you work overtime, which is very common to deal with high caseloads, you’re not allowed to ask for that time back in lieu.
It’s the most brutal law firm and employer I’ve ever worked for. You can barely lift a finger without being asked why you lifted it that way.

Perhaps that’s why it is “average”.

Because counsel have to do so much that solicitors and CPS used to do, it’s waking
early to do work before going to Court, then working from the minute you get home to when you go to bed.

There’s no downtime when the jury are out as there are CVPs and other hearings to be covered.

Trials go in the diary over holidays that are already booked and you have to cancel or rearrange the holidays.

You get perks though. For example, you get a secretary. She do nice things for me. It is nice. Very nice.

I asked my valet what the “central line” is, it sounds horrific.

You have to do a lot of this at lower paying firms too. It is the reality of private practice and serving clients.

A shame that Kirkland NQs have none of that. Enjoy the central line.