To those who work/have worked in law firms, what are hours in your Marketing Department like?

[TaleOfTheContinents]

I work in the marketing department of a professional services firm and I'm thinking of moving to a law firm as there seems to be a great degree of similarity in the marketing practices of my current firm and those of law firms.

I'm worried about the hours as I'd like hours that are family friendly. I have friends who are solicitors and have heard their horror stories of seven day working weeks and 18 hour stints.

If you work in a law firm, do the people in your marketing/communications/business development teams typically work very long hours?

I’m up north in a big corporate firm and for support staff it’s very much 9-5. Nobody puts any pressure on marketing. They work when they can be arsed which is probably only half of the aforementioned 9-5

My friend however did it in a magic circle firm and worked a 60 hour week.

Depends where you are, and the size and culture of the firm. Lawyers also often work very different hours to support staff. If I’m in the office at 8pm, you can guarantee no support staff will be!

Northern firms generally aren’t that bad though. Haven’t worked in London but plenty of my friends have and they seem to have it much harder.

Honestly though, you won’t be working the same hours as the lawyers. It’s been sort of an unwritten rule that you don’t give work to support staff past 5pm in every firm I’ve worked in. You might get the odd bit of urgent stuff but it’s not the norm.

Thanks MrsPinkCock. That's pretty much what I thought - that lawyers have very heavy/demanding case loads that require more hours but that the same wouldn't be said of support staff. Although I would be looking for a role in London, so perhaps I should expect a similar experience to your London-based friend. Might be a good idea to avoid magic circle firms though (assuming they would even want me!).