Life in-house may deliver on work-life balance compared to private practice but new research suggests that growing demands on corporate counsel are mirroring the general rise in working hours in the City.

This month's The Verdict poll of senior in-house lawyers found that the overwhelming majority of corporate counsel work more than 40 hours in a typical week.

The survey of work-life balance found that nearly one in five (19%) respondents clocked up more than 60 hours in an average week, with a further 20% working 50-59 hours. Nearly half of respondents (46%) said they usually worked 40-49 hours a week.

Bluechip lawyers said rising expectations on corporate counsel and the recent emergence of specialist in-house lawyers in sectors such as investment banking were major factors behind the general increase in hours.

Aon legal director Jane Owen said: "I have always worked relatively long hours and although I came in-house to find more of a work-life balance it has never really worked out like that. Effectively, you are on the same team as your client and share the same drivers; you will work as hard as they do."

Nearly one in two respondents reported that their hours had increased over the last three years, including 22% who said that theirs had increased 'a lot'.

Despite mounting pressure, the poll found widespread satisfaction with the work-life balance on offer for company lawyers in comparison to their private practice counterparts.

Seventy-nine percent of respondents rated working in-house ahead of private practice in lifestyle terms, including 45% who said it offered a 'much better' work-life balance. Key reasons given for preferring working for a company include better job satisfaction, the chance to maintain a healthy social life and more annual holiday.

HBOS general counsel Harry Baines said: "Hours in private practice are out of control. There is no amount of money that can compensate for the work-life balance."

Merlie Calvert (pictured), legal head at De Beers, said that working in-house gave lawyers a chance for more rounded career development. She commented: "When you are in private practice you are used to everything being about your own legal career. When you move in-house it stops being all about you and becomes more about what you can do for the business."

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