Keen legal minds must find no relief on the loo

LAWYERS at a top international firm were told to charge clients even when they were taking lavatory breaks — because they would still be thinking about work.

It was revealed earlier this year that top law firms are charging clients as much as £1 000 (about R17 300) an hour, so a six-minute lavatory break could cost £100.

The policy at Nabarro, a commercial firm, which was leaked to legal website RollOnFriday, read: “Any short break, eg coffee break, of up to six minutes should still be recorded to the matter you are working on, on the basis that you would still be thinking about it.”

At the time, the firm said such approaches were common practice. However, a spokesman said on Friday that the clause had been removed because “it does not reflect the way we bill clients”.

The leak prompted a barrage of comments from lawyers. One said: “I know a solicitor who recorded time for when he was in the bath thinking about clients.”