Report reveals wide gap in junior lawyer working hours across UK firms
updated on 24 September 2025
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A clear divide in working hours among trainee and junior lawyers at UK law firms has been revealed in new research, with US-headquartered firms continuing to top the table for longest average days.
While the data, collected from 2,000 trainees and junior lawyers across more than 100 law firms, showed that hours have remained broadly similar to that of last year, the average working hours at the highest ranked firm was 13 hours and three minutes – this is slightly down from 13 hours and 23 minutes last year. Notably, 14 firms now have an average finish time of 9:00pm or later, up from 11 last year, according to Legal Cheek’s research.
US firms continued to dominate the top of the table, with some variation in hours year on year. For example, while Kirkland & Ellis International LLP and Weil, Gotshal & Manges (London) LLP featured in the top five firms again, both saw a drop in average working hours of around an hour.
The long working hours at US firms correlates with high trainee and newly qualified (NQ) lawyer’s pay, with Legal Cheek’s report coming shortly after a number of firms raised NQ salaries over the summer.
At the other end of the table, 15 firms saw trainees and junior lawyers signing off before 6:00pm, up from 14 last year, while 38 firms saw an average end time of before 6:30pm, down from 39. Law firms with stronger regional roots were more likely to sit at the lower end of the table, according the data outlined by Legal Cheek. Moore Barlow LLP, Weightmans LLP and Birketts LLP had the shortest days, with averages of eight hours and 29 minutes, eight hours and 44 minutes, and eight hours and 46 minutes, respectively.
Speaking to Legal Cheek, one trainee lawyer said: “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.”
