For lawyers in firms with an hourly requirement, theoretically you can take all the time off you want as long as you meet hourly goals. In many firms, there is a 2000 annual billable requirement. That works out to 40 hours a week for 50 weeks.
As shown in the 2021 Legal Trends Report, in 2020, the average lawyer billed just 2.5 hours (31%) of an 8-hour day, indicating that many lawyers either don’t have enough clients to fill their day or that they struggle with inefficiencies in their firms that distract from billable work.
As of 2020, the average business lawyer hourly rate is between $100 and $400 per hour. Again, this rate can vary greatly depending on the aforementioned factors. Location and type of case will heavily influence an attorney’s hourly rate. Which Fee Structure is Best, and How Might I Be Able to Keep Hourly Costs Low?
Regardless of the number of hours worked each week or the area of law in they practice, a day in the life of a lawyer is aimed at achieving a favorable result for a client.
A day in the life of a lawyer is anything but a nine-to-five routine with an hour or more for a leisurely lunch. Bloomberg View reported that an attorney at a large law firm works anywhere from 50 to 60 hours a week on average. The long hours are the result of the obligations the practice of law imposes on an attorney.
It's not uncommon for lawyers (especially Big Law attorneys) to work up to 80 hours each week. On average, according to the 2018 Legal Trends Report, full-time lawyers work 49.6 hours each week.
It comes as no surprise, then, to discover that most lawyers (58 per cent) get between 20 and 25 days of paid holiday (excluding bank holidays) a year, while the bulk of the rest (33 per cent) get between 26 and 30 days.
You can certainly work decent hours and earn a decent salary at City firms if you pick your firm and practice area carefully. IP is pretty much as close to 9-5 as you'll get in City practice, although it's probably closer to 9-7 in reality.