Right, that’s ‘Which 20th century lord chief justice are you?’ completed… where was I? Oh yes, reading a fascinating study showing that only 59% – yes please, I’d love a tea, I’m sure it’s my turn – sorry, only 59% of lawyers’ time at work is actually spent lawyering.

The figure comes from a study of 30,000 professionals carried out by something called the iOpener Institute for People and Performance. The good news is that spending only 41% of the day faffing is better than many. The international ‘time on task’ average is 58.8%, with rates ranging from 66.2% in food service down to 53.2% in biotechnology.

The bad news is that lawyers spend only 39.5% of their time ‘happy’ – worryingly, less than accountants and IT types. And we’re not sure what to make of the finding that lawyers spend 34.9% of their time ‘energised’.

Jessica Pryce-Jones, director of the iOpener Institute, says: ‘While the legal sector can take encouragement from scoring above the cross-industry average, there is still potential for further improvement.’

Obiter agrees. OK, did anyone see ‘Babylon’ on Sunday?

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