Law Firms: The Shortest Hours

Law Firm Rankings

This is a ranking of the shortest hours worked by midlevel associates. Associates at the #1 firm, Chapman and Cutler, averaged 49 hours worked (39.1 billed) per week. Associates at #161, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, worked on average 71.1 (and billed 62.5) hours per week.

There are 168 total hours in a week. Sleeping 8 hours a night, leaves you with 112 waking hours. Working 71.1 hours amounts to 63.5% of waking hours. (49 hours would be 43.8%.)

Pay includes both the salary and bonus. The following figures are based on Midlevel associates (3rd, 4th & 5th year). The data comes from The American Lawyer's 2005 Midlevel Associates Survey. Please visit that site (free registration required) to see complete survey results for each law firm.

Not happy with this law firm ranking? Create your own: Find the Perfect Law Firm.

1-30 | 31-60 | 61-90 | 91-120 | 120-160

Rank	Law Firm	Main Office	Participating Offices	Total Midlevels	Respondents	Response Rate	Hours Worked	Hours Billed	Salary + Bonus	Hourly Rate
99	Cooley Godward	Palo Alto	Broomfield, CO; Palo Alto; Reston, VA; San Diego; San Francisco	83	40	48%	56.5	44.1	$191,497	$67.79
99	Dewey Ballantine	New York	East Palo Alto; Houston; Los Angeles; New York; Washington, DC	89	34	38%	56.5	46.3	$198,719	$70.34
99	Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky	Washington, DC	Los Angeles; New York; Washington, DC	45	28	62%	56.5	45.2	$168,919	$59.79
99	Foley Hoag	Boston	Boston	36	19	53%	56.5	44.8	$176,956	$62.64
99	Hunton & Williams	Richmond	Atlanta; Charlotte, NC; Dallas; Knoxville; McLean, VA; Miami; New York; Norfolk, VA; Raleigh; Richmond; Washington, DC	135	50	37%	56.5	45.1	$140,957	$49.90
99	Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel	New York	New York	55	12	22%	56.5	47.9	$194,667	$68.91
99	Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe	San Francisco	Irvine, CA; Los Angeles; Menlo Park, CA; New York; Portland, OR; Sacramento; San Francisco; Seattle; Washington, DC	79	44	56%	56.5	46.4	$192,207	$68.04
99	Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr	Washington, DC	Baltimore; Boston; New York; Washington, DC	240	60	25%	56.5	45.7	$207,382	$73.41
99	Average	City	City	0	0%	56.6	45.3	$169,000	$59.72
99	Chadbourne & Parke	New York	New York; Washington, DC	48	14	29%	56.6	48	$189,226	$66.86
99	Goodwin Procter	Boston	Boston; New York; Washington, DC	123	37	30%	56.6	46.5	$187,948	$66.41
99	Nixon Peabody	National	Boston; Garden City, NY; Manchester, NH; New York; Rochester, NY; San Francisco; Washington, DC	77	20	26%	56.6	42.6	$134,189	$47.42
99	Ropes & Gray	Boston	Boston; New York; San Francisco; Washington, DC	176	58	33%	56.6	45.5	$209,613	$74.07
112	Covington & Burling	Washington, DC	New York; San Francisco; Washington, DC	111	40	36%	56.7	46.2	$183,620	$64.77
112	Thelen Reid & Priest	San Francisco	Los Angeles; New York; San Francisco; San Jose; Washington, DC	44	20	45%	56.7	42.5	$169,526	$59.80
112	Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher	Los Angeles	Dallas; Denver; Irvine, CA; London; Los Angeles; Munich; New York; Palo Alto; San Francisco; Washington, DC	198	105	53%	56.8	46.5	$188,794	$66.48
115	Bell, Boyd & Lloyd	Chicago	Chicago	30	17	57%	56.9	46.6	$158,791	$55.81
115	Perkins Coie	Seattle	Chicago; Los Angeles; Menlo Park, CA; Phoenix; Portland, OR; San Francisco; Seattle	100	18	18%	56.9	45.6	$145,939	$51.30
115	Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman	San Francisco	Century City, CA; Los Angeles; McLean, VA; New York; Palo Alto; Sacramento; San Diego; San Francisco; Washington, DC	140	56	40%	56.9	42.8	$174,367	$61.29
115	Saul Ewing	Philadelphia	Baltimore; Chesterbrook, PA; Harrisburg, PA; Philadelphia; Princeton; Wilmington	28	23	82%	56.9	42.4	$130,698	$45.94
115	Willkie Farr & Gallagher	New York	New York; Washington, DC	94	31	33%	56.9	48.3	$199,741	$70.21
115	Dechert	National	Boston; Hartford; New York; Newport Beach, CA; Palo Alto; Philadelphia; Princeton; San Francisco; Washington, DC	144	85	59%	57	46.4	$170,886	$59.96
115	Greenberg Traurig	National	Albany; Atlanta; Chicago; Denver; Florham Park, NJ; Fort Lauderdale; Los Angeles; McLean, VA; Miami; New York; Orlando; Philadelphia; Phoenix; West Palm Beach, FL; Wilmington	154	37	24%	57	46.2	$145,773	$51.15
115	Haynes and Boone	Dallas	Austin, TX; Dallas; Fort Worth; Houston; Richardson, TX; San Antonio; Washington, DC	59	33	56%	57	41.2	$139,191	$48.84
115	Kenyon & Kenyon	New York	New York; Washington, DC	46	24	52%	57	46.1	$182,690	$64.10
115	LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae	National	Boston; Chicago; Hartford; Houston; Jacksonville; Los Angeles; New York; Pittsburgh; San Francisco; Washington, DC	83	39	47%	57	46.7	$178,221	$62.53