Average weekly hours logged by in-house lawyers

“On average, in-house corporate counsel are working 50 hours a week, and for a majority (63%) of them, this amount has stayed the same over the past two years.” From the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association survey of its members for the 2007 In-House Corporate Counsel Barometer, at 3, this finding confirms other similar estimates (See my posts of Sept. 25, 2005 which speaks of “generally 45-50 hours” in the context of the usual benchmark of 1,850 hours a year; and April 13, 2006 where 52% said 41-50 hours a week while 38% said 51-60 hours.).

Later, at 8, the report offers more specifics. Some 20 percent of the respondents said they average 40 or fewer hours a week; 47 percent said their typical work week demanded between 41 and 50 hours; 28 percent said they put in 51 to 60 hours on average; and 5 percent fell into the extreme range of more than 60 hours a week (See my post of Dec. 12, 2006 on “extreme jobs” of more than 60 hours a week.).

The report says nothing about what percentage of those hours were worked in the office or at home.