12-hour days, £350k salaries: Life as a divorce lawyer

Sky News

12-05-2025

If you've ever spent your Monday morning commute daydreaming about starting afresh with your career, this feature is for you. Each Monday, our Money blog speaks to someone from a different profession to discover what it's really like. This week we chat to Yael Selig, partner at Osbornes Law and head of the family offices...
I work 10-12 hours a day... The nature of my work means that I often have to work in the evenings due to unexpected issues. My workload is very intense, but I do try to make time for lunch. Of course, this very much depends on what is going on in a particular week.
Newly qualified you'd expect to earn £50k... A top divorce lawyer... £350,000.
We bill in six-minute increments... I deal with private clients, so it very much depends on the task at hand. If, for example, I have a 20-minute call with a client, this will mean that I will put down my time as three units.
We do pilates... We recently introduced a weekly class in the office as well as various other wellbeing incentives (lunchtime walks, for example), which have all been met with great enthusiasm. This tells you a lot about how staff do need to be encouraged to get up from their desks.
I wanted to be a dancer... I did ballet from a young age until I was 14 and then went on to join a contemporary dance group until I was 18. I come from a family of lawyers, so I decided to do a law degree. I do love connecting with people and family law seemed like the best option for me; it's the one I enjoyed most when I was studying.
I have a reputation as a "Rottweiler"... I was acting for an older vulnerable client who was clearly being bullied by his ex-wife. She was the first to coin the phrase. You need patience and empathy. You need to be a good listener and a problem solver. But you also need to have some fight in you, as essentially you are a litigation lawyer.
Unfortunately, it is inevitably a messy business, though I think I strike the right balance as I try my very best to resolve matters outside the court process and through negotiations. There are cases, unfortunately, where court is the only option, and this is where my reputation kicks in.
Everyone hates something about their job and for me it's... the tight deadlines. You are often having to work to court deadlines and when your workload is super busy, it means you are faced with lots of these.
There are two circumstances when I'd refuse a client... if it is unaffordable - litigation can be expensive. I always make sure that any potential client is made aware of the likely costs from the outset. And if a client is dishonest and wants to hide assets - then of course I cannot act for them.
The biggest misconception about lawyers is... That you are cold and ruthless and only interested in fees.
I lost a client to cancer... during divorce proceedings. I still think of him. Despite his diagnosis, the wife wanted to push on with litigation. Thankfully, I succeeded in stopping the proceedings while he undertook very aggressive chemotherapy. The courts were very sympathetic as he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and he didn't know how long he had to live. His doctor's guess was that, at best, he had a year.
I did everything I could to ensure that during the last eight months of his life he did not have to deal with the angst of court proceedings. I was adamant that, despite the other side's insistence to try and draw him into the litigation (court dates etc), I was not going to allow that to happen. I fought very hard for him, and we succeeded.
He was a real gentleman who kept his sense of humour until the end of his days.
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Brain surgeon
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The job hasn't changed my opinion of marriage but... it does make me value my relationship.
People can avoid a messy divorce by... being reasonable and not allowing their emotions to cloud their judgement. I accept this is difficult to do. In my experience, when the parties have a good line of communication between them, it helps keep matters on an even keel and they do not escalate.
The most common mistake people make is to raise the temperature by... texting each other directly and insulting the other, and making threats regarding the children, which then makes matters considerably worse.
If I had to do it all again... I would. Repeat, repeat, repeat!
Despite the stress and intense workload... I do love my work. I have no plans to retire yet and haven't given it much thought. My job is very full on but I am very energetic, and I do love people and meeting new clients. It's what keeps me going.