If you’re looking to pencil in a get together with a London-based Kirkland & Ellis associate, be sure to find someplace with a late night kitchen, because your droog isn’t getting out of the office any time soon.
Our friends at Legal Cheek are in the midst of rolling out a good deal of research they’ve collected over the last several months about the life of London Biglaw solicitors. Their latest finding attempts to answer the burning question: Who is working their associates the hardest?
Sure, everyone knows there are long hours in Biglaw, but we rarely make a concerted effort to track the average times that lawyers clock in and out of work. Here are just the top five firms organized by latest average departure time (the full list is available at Legal Cheek):
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| LAW FIRM | AVG. ARRIVAL TIME | AVG. LEAVE TIME |
|---|---|---|
| Kirkland & Ellis | 9:44am | 9:14pm |
| Freshfields | 9:14am | 8:57pm |
| Clifford Chance | 9:27am | 8:56pm |
| White & Case | 9:20am | 8:55pm |
| Latham & Watkins | 9:21am | 8:54pm |
While Kirkland may be letting the kids out of school the latest, it’s actually Freshfields that’s holding them the longest with an 11 hour 43 minute average workday, which works out to around 3,000 hours over the course of the year.
And that’s all billable too. You know, if associates are dutifully billing all their bathroom breaks…
Revealed: Top law firms average arrive and leave the office times [Legal Cheek]
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Joe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.