Exclusive research spotlights working hours of junior lawyers across UK’s 100+ top law firms

How demanding is life at your dream firm?

Behind the swish offices and six-figure salaries, many junior lawyers at top UK firms are working seriously long hours.

Exclusive new data from Legal Cheek, based on anonymous responses from over 2,000 trainees and junior lawyers, sheds light on the working patterns at more than 100 firms — offering a candid look behind the office doors of the legal world.

On the whole, working hours have remained broadly similar to last year. However, there have been some notable shifts: while certain juniors have seen their average hours fall, others are burning even more of that midnight oil.

At some US elite firms, juniors now report leaving the office about an hour earlier than they did this time last year — yet they are still regularly clocking up gruelling 11-plus-hour days. By contrast, insiders at other US players say their already hefty hours have actually crept upwards. These differences may reflect varying market conditions across practice areas, the pressure to justify soaring salaries with longer days, and firms’ increasing efforts to curb burnout by promoting work–life balance.

Regardless of whether hours are up or down, US powerhouses still dominate the table for the longest average working days. At the very top, junior lawyers report clocking around 13 hours a day — often leaving the office after 10:00 pm. These late nights don’t go unrewarded: newly qualified salaries at these top firms have surged to a record-breaking £180,000 over the past year or so.

Hot on the heels of the City’s US players, the Magic Circle sees average desk time hover between 10 and 11 hours a day, with NQ salaries coming in just below their US counterparts at a still impressive £150,000.

Notably, 14 firms now have an average finish time of 9pm or later, up from 11 last year.

Not every firm runs on desk-side Deliveroos and late nights. At 15 firms with strong regional roots, lawyers are signing off before 6:00 pm.

Taken together, the results paint a familiar picture of the legal market: demanding schedules at the top dogs in the City, tempered by shorter days at firms outside the US/MC bubble.

A full breakdown of start times, finish times and average day lengths can be found in the table below. Naturally, these figures vary by department and workload at any given time.

Legal Cheek Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey 2025-26 — average start and finish times + average working hours

Viewing on a phone? 📱 Please scroll across to view the final column 👉

For those curious about life at the firms clocking the longest hours, here’s what some anonymous juniors had to say:

“We are constantly on call and we cannot leave our phones at home for more than 20 mins. I have had partners calling me when I am in bed for redlines and have been bombarded with emails even when ill.”.

“The hours are very long, and work during weekends and annual leave is quite frequent. I have been told to take my laptop on holiday.”.

“What would you expect”.

“Definitely depends on the seat. My transactional seat was wildly unpredictable — had months of very low hours then was at 300% PACE for others.”.

Though juniors with shorter shifts shared much brighter sentiments:

“Couldn’t really ask for better hours in a law firm.”.

“Generally pretty good, I am rarely expected to work late. Trainees don’t have targets which enables trainees to learn and develop their skills without the pressure of targets straight away.”.

Our final junior adds a note of realism for prospective applicants:

“I’ve definitely had to give up a few social things this year, and a few weekends […] Broadly, though, I still have a very active social life, most of the time I get enough sleep […] I think the work is manageable but you do need to know what you’re signing up for. This is not a 9-5, and it is not advertised as one.”.