Most lawyers not employed by the government work more than 60 hours a week on a normal basis. When there is an active trial or court hearing to prepare for, that number usually jumps to 80 hours a week or more. For BigLaw lawyers (i.e., the largest law firms), 80 hours a week is considered a vacation; most of them work at least 12 hours a day every day, including weekends!
The unreasonable workloads and time expectations are one of the reasons that lawyers as a profession are so depressed...and why law school enrollment plummeted so far once the legal market crashed and salaries fell.
