How many hours do trainee solicitors work?

Jul 12, 2022

Written By Francesca Evans

The number of hours trainee solicitors are required to work often varies depending on what firm you are working for. Whilst some work typical 9am-5pm hours, others often do many hours overtime, especially those working in large cities or Magic Circle firms.

A typical working day as a trainee solicitor

As a trainee you will have administrative and legal responsibilities, which cover both fee-earning and non-fee earning tasks.

Legal tasks include:

- Conducting legal research

- Attending client events and meetings

- Writing attendance notes

- Providing legal advice

- Crafting legal letters and emails to clients

- Attending court

- Drafting legal documents, such as leases, licences, and contracts.

Administrative tasks include:

- Preparing trial/court bundles

- Filing documents and printing

- Ensuring relevant spreadsheets are up-to-date

- Organisational tasks

The list goes on! Each day can vary and therefore, so can your working hours. While one day you may finish on time, the next you could end up working two hours overtime to ensure your daily tasks have been completed.

Large city firms

Large city firms, or more specifically, Magic Circle firms, often demand much longer working days for trainees. Whilst you may start at the typical 9am, many don’t leave the office until 8pm, given the pressure trainees are often under at such prestigious firms.

Their larger salary certainly comes at the cost of longer working days. However, for some, the extra hard work is worth it, with large city firms such as Allen & Overy offering a salary of £50,000 a year for trainees and over £100,000 for newly qualified solicitors.

Technically, employees cannot be forced to work over 48 hours per week (averaged over a 17-week period). That being said, in practice, many trainees keen to make a good impression voluntarily work over this.

Different areas of law

Just like how working hours vary depending on the prestige of the law firm, working hours also often vary depending on what field of law you are practising/ training in.

Whilst commercial/ corporate based law firms often demand much longer working days and late nights, those training in family law or conveyancing for example, may see a working day that resembles the normal 9-5.

How are hours documented?

Many law firms document their employee’s working hours by a process called ‘billing’.

As a trainee you undertake fee-earning and non-fee-earning tasks; however, only fee-earning tasks are billable, i.e., it is only these hours that the client pays for.

As a trainee, you will start to get into the routine of documenting these billable hours.

The shift towards remote working

A few years ago, working remotely as a trainee solicitor would be almost unheard of; working days would be strictly office-based.

However, following COVID, many firms now take a hybrid approach to working, whereby employees are required to work in the office some days, but remotely others.

Whilst trainees will probably spend more time on-site than experienced solicitors who require minimal supervision, it is certainly more common for trainees to be given the chance to work from home.

This can, of course, shorten the working day, especially for those who may not live near their law firm’s office, as it cuts back on time commuting to and from the office. Not to mention this also saves money on travel!

How much time off do trainee solicitors get?

The majority of trainee and qualified solicitors get anywhere between 20-30 days of paid holiday a year. This is often exclusive of bank holidays.

Conclusion

All in all, the answer to how many hours solicitors work is subject to many factors and will vary between firms.

It is important to be aware of the environment and culture of the firms you are applying for training contracts with and what is to be expected of you once you join. A great way to get a more realistic insight into the working hours at a particular firm is by contacting current employees or trainees at the firm.

This can then help you to decide whether their working pattern suits you and aid you in choosing which firms best suit your approach to working.

Becoming a Lawyer