To date, British lawyers have resisted the temptation and have not ruined their own lives with outrageous billable hours expectations, as American firms have done. Looks like that's changing:
Magic circle firm faces stiff opposition as associates round on plans to increase recordable hours
Allen & Overy (A&O) is facing a battle to win its associates over to a new time recording regime that will push lawyers to record a minimum of 2,200 'office' hours.
In an initiative to be rolled out across the firm, all associates and partners will be set personal hourly plans for the first time.
A&O's associate chargeable hour targets - between 1,600 and 1,700 hours - are not the highest in the City, but A&O has fuelled disquiet among its associates by setting new targets of a further 500-600 recorded hours, predominantly on activities of "high value to the business".
The UK's The Lawyer.com has details here.