Indeed, a survey of junior lawyers across top firms by the Financial Review this year found that working past midnight, on weekends and sometimes putting in 13 to 14-hour days were common.

Mr Gilbert acknowledged "a place like this has peaks and troughs and we've got to get better at managing the peaks".

Gilbert + Tobin was subjected to a SafeWork investigation last year, regarding the hours worked by staff and allegations that staff were forced to take supplements to keep up with the extended working hours and sometimes slept at the office.

Other firms

But other top corporate firms disagreed that long hours were "a reality of life", saying it was a challenge they needed to meet.

"Overwork and fatigue should certainly not be taken as a given," Herbert Smith Freehills Australian executive partner Andrew Pike said.

All professional services firms had to balance the needs of clients with staff wellbeing, "ensuring the wellbeing of everyone is paramount", he said.

Ashurst global managing partner Paul Jenkins reinforced Mr Pike's stance.


"Long hours and a pressure to deliver are issues in our industry, but we certainly do not accept fatigue or poor mental health as a 'fact of life' at Ashurst.

"That is not the culture our leadership aspires to and we work proactively to do what we can to manage workloads and impacts on our staff, taking their health and wellbeing seriously."

Managing workloads: Ashurst's global managing partner Paul Jenkins.

A Clayton Utz spokesperson called on the industry to come together to respond to issues of overwork.

"No law firm is perfect and we have measures in place to monitor and support our people and their wellbeing – which is our priority. Working together we can all do more as a profession to look after people's wellbeing and learn from each other."

King & Wood Mallesons Australia chief executive partner Berkeley Cox said "our people come here for the challenging work, which can involve long hours from time to time".

"At a systemic level, we recognise there are entrenched elements of our business model and our make-up that work against our ultimate goal.

"This is a complex and challenging issue but we are not shying away from it, with high-quality external support, a structured approach and actively engaging with our people."


King & Wood Mallesons had also faced a workplace regulator complaint last year. WorkSafe had investigated the firm about the hours worked by its banking lawyers during the royal commission.

A source said KWM graduates were subjected to gruelling conditions, with some employees choosing to sleep at the firm's Melbourne office rather than returning home for the night.

The firm was viewed as responding proactively to the complaint at the time.

Gilbert + Tobin told staff last Friday it was also working to improve hours, which was "hard to do and we may never get it completely right".

"While it seems simple that long work hours are to be avoided, our consultations with a medical expert have helped us to understand that it is difficult to set hard, one-size-fits-all guidelines for when workloads are too much," Mr Gilbert told staff.

"The amount of rest and sleep required and desired depends on the individual. People may require more or less, depending on their own physiological make-up."

He said steps taken by the firm to improve working hours included taking on more staff – it has hired 44 lawyers this year – and expanding its offshore capacity for document review.

SafeWork talked to 14 lawyers from Gilbert + Tobin in its investigation on Monday. Mr Gilbert said the watchdog had given the firm some preliminary feedback about its workplace policies and a full report would follow in the coming weeks.