Working long hours is nothing new to lawyers, especially during boom times such as commercial lawyers in particular are experiencing at the moment.But recent research shows that this is a phenomenon that crosses the boundaries within the profession.

The 1,500 young solicitors who took part in the Law Society's sixth and final cohort study- which has followed 3,000 law degree and common professional examination students through their training and careers since 1993 - reported working an average of 45 hours per week and more a third worked more than 50 hours.Newly qualified solicitors in commercial organisations and in industry worked longer than those in private practice and four in ten lawyers in large provincial firms worked more than 50 hours weekly.

The study found that those in the biggest and the smallest firms were most likely to work long hours.One commercial solicitor quoted in the report felt that, once he had qualified, expectations of him became 'difficult to meet'.

Deals that would normally take one month were expected to be completed in one week.This lawyer considered such a manner of working ultimately to be 'counterproductive' yet also felt that City firms were expecting similar working on a regular basis.

Once qualified, solicitors find that the pace hots up and they are tied to 'unrealistic deadlines' - one lawyer reported working straight through one and even two nights on occasion.Salaries for the newly qualified were found to vary considerably across the profession.

Respondents with three years' post-qualifying experience were earning anything from £26,000 in local government to £37,000 in commerce and industry.

As expected, within private practice, City and high street firms constitute the 'extremes of the salary scale'.Trainees in City firms earned the highest salaries and went on to achieve the highest pay increases so that, by the time the y were 18 months post-qualified, earnings were close to £50,000.

By contrast, high street solicitors at 18 months post-qualified earn just over £20,000.However, post-qualifying salaries reveal a gender disparity.

While there was found to be no significant salary differential during the training contract, nevertheless a 'significant gap' between the salaries of males and females opened up after qualifying.

There was a 'significant difference' in the rates at which salaries increased.

The emergence of this gap is important in the light of other findings, suggesting that female solicitors are 'disadvantaged in relation to pay'.The survey also set out to measure 'job satisfaction' and found respondents to be generally satisfied with the pace and overall development of their career.

Predictably, City lawyers were more satisfied with their incomes than were those in high street practices.

Of course, there are factors other than pay and promotion.

Attitudes to work varied in a number of ways and one of the main determinants was the type of firm or organisation in which a solicitor worked.

Lack of continuing professional support post-qualification is a source of worry to many young solicitors, as is the issue of unrealistic deadlines.

Two-fifths of respondents felt they were given targets that were difficult to meet.In previous reports, the cohort study uncovered 'discriminatory behaviour' and workplace harassment.

The latest one found 10% of women reported 'adverse discrimination' at work; common reasons for discrimination given by both men and women were linked to sex, social class, background, ethnic origin, religion and sexual orientation.Such discrimination was mostly experienced as colleagues acting in a 'difficult or hostile way'.

When asked who discriminated against them in the workplace, 58% cited a senior colleague.

One in ten believed they were discriminated against 'continuously'.

Some 11% of respondents - more than twice as many women as men - said they had experienced bullying, a figure that rose to 20% for one-year qualifieds (see [2000] Gazette, 2 November, 1).The supervision available to new assistant solicitors is often voiced as a key concern.

However, two-thirds of respondents to the survey claimed they were 'quite satisfied' with the level of support and advice they received - only 22% reported that they were 'not satisfied at all'.

Levels of satisfaction were lower in commercial and industrial organisations than in private practice.Lucy Greenwood is a five-year qualified solicitor at Barnett Sampson, a four-partner generalist London practice with a family law bias.

She stayed on after training and feels comfortable with the continuing level of supervision offered to her.

She says that staying where she trained gave her more confidence; she did not have to cope with a new firm as well as new status.

'I don't have to know everything, I know who I can go to and ask'.Many young solicitors who have had a good experience in their training firm feel comfortable to stay on as they grow in confidence and take on more responsibility.

They are also familiar with the 'ethos' of their firm, sharing its vision and values.

Those that leave on qualification to join new firms often report feeling under confident or anxious, needing to start again on a new learning curve.Mark Dillon, chairman of the Young Solicitors Group (YSG), is himself four years post-qualified and working at Eversheds.

He says it is a great shame that the cohort study is now finished and considers that six years is just too short a period to follo w a career through.

He says that the limited timescale of this project fails to identify the 'dramatic, hidden area of staff wastage among qualified lawyers in many of the largest firms' - the dreaded five-year-plus burnout.

It is a 'dark secret of the profession and very little talked about-least of all by the large firms themselves', he says.Tony King, head of human resources development at City giant Clifford Chance, believes that firms such as his should view the needs of the newly qualified differently and look closely at the training and support given to young solicitors.

The crossover from trainee to qualified needs to be 'managed' and Clifford Chance has set out to offer a 'wide range of technical and non-technical training programmes complemented by extensive knowledge and information systems'.

This continuing learning is underpinned by 'extensive support and training by seniors', he says, adding: 'The way I see things is that you learn best by doing, but newly qualifieds need clear guidance and support from seniors to help them through the transition.'Nick Armstrong, a past chairman of the Trainee Solicitors Group, is two years qualified.

He believes that his firm, top Sheffield-based Irwin Mitchell, take management and training seriously.

Nevertheless, he considers that his experience is 'quite unusual' and that other firms may not effect such a smooth crossover for their young solicitors.

Many new solicitors may not receive the support to manage the 'jump' into the world of the qualified solicitor.

It is obvious that the first year is going to be the hardest.

'The minute the word trainee is removed from the front of your name they consider you no longer require training .

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but you are learning on the job, it is experiential learning,' he says.To unpack this issue is to revisit the neglected area of supervision and professional mentoring, touched on in the survey and to ask why some firms are better at mentoring young solicitors than others.

At the recent TSG/Gazette training awards, one winning supervisor was acclaimed as having 'a natural instinct for training'.

Successful supervisors offer guidance, constant support and effective feedback.

The key to good training lies in taking an interest in solicitors as human beings and not merely as automatons programmed to earn fees.

It may be time to offer the supervisors some supervision.