According to the national sleep foundation https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need a human adult needs at least 7-9 to be considered functional. The amount of sleep required gets higher if you have a job that requires a high level of alertness.

Law is a job that requires such a level of alertness. In that sense, it is a job that requires an element of physical fitness to do. Mental fitness and this fitness is a function of a lot of things. You are only at your best if you are well rested and are able to engage in this evolution requires you to engage in. These things are like socialisation and taking care of your family/home life. These requirements are an evolutionary imperative.

This was one of the reasons the 8 hour work week emerged during the industrial revolution. A worker is more productive when well rested and that compensates for the worker to be unproductive for longer hours. Even then, you can justify longer hours if it is a job that does not require a high level of alertness or as law firms and the legal profession calls it "Attention to Detail" and "responsiveness".

But unfortunately law firms have not realised this. This is why the industry standard in India is mediocrity. Think about it. We are the largest common law nation in the world. Why is it that the world then turns to London and New York for their legal work? Why can't Indian law firms be that good that the Magic Circle competes with us? This is quite possible, for Indian law firms could just hire dual qualified advocates, practice foreign law here (as consultants, while being enrolled in India only) and have formal counsel in local jurisdiction sign off on their work/opinions. Heck, dual qualified Indian lawyers could be globe-trotting counsel working out of Fort, Bombay instead of trying to show off getting conference room access at some foreign chamber on LinkedIn.

Its time we realised, that if we are working on 3 hours of sleep, our work is bound to be terrible. Mistakes will happen. Slip ups will happen. This will make a bunch of already sleep deprived people very angry. They will then shout at people. People will get yelled at. The culture will turn toxic.

Indian legal employers need to realise that there is no point just having an enrolled person sitting in a chair. To have them perform at their best they need to have rest and leisure time. This has to be a non-negotiable. Indian firms need to fight overwork if they want to grow. If people aren't taking breaks, force them to. Have mandatory recreation leaves. (Audit firms already do that). Keep them mentally engaged in what is going on. Otherwise they just can't give their best.

So if you're screwing up, it really is not your fault. The people who manage your workplace, they need to get their act together to ensure you have a climate in which to thrive. It is in their interest. Quality builds loyalty both among your employees and clientele. Young firms and lawyers need to fight overwork by competing on quality rather than quantity. Overwork is an enemy. A sleep deprived lawyer who can't focus is useless to everyone.

Just a rant.

You do realize that this is a universal problem with law firms right? Several biglaw people I know (those who completed their graduation and law degrees from America) suffer from the same issues of workplace toxicity and lack of lesiure time.

Firms are just part of a broken system

yaar law firm practise has become so mechanical . Even pendency at Courts are very high, justices have also become mehcanical.
EWS hearing is adjourned for more than 1000 days now. Some just dont give a damn.
Quality of justice is going down in india.
I see chaos and scarcity everywhere . Population is sooo high. Majour part of population is youth. Compare Japan - major population is old people.

Most middle class indians are now leaving india. Law is such a specialized field that getting placed or earning good money in litigation is an uphill climb. Kuch nai ho sakta india ka. so sad. sed lyf