CITYJeremy Kosky, aged 28, is an assistant in the litigation department of Clifford Chance.

Mr Kosky did his traineeship with the firm and stayed on when he qualified in 1992.

Clifford Chance has just asked him to do an LLM in advanced litigation.

Rights of audience in the higher courts are held by 12 solicitors in his department and he is starting to build up the flying hours necessary to qualify for them.

'I have a high quality of life considering the macho hype that comes with working in the City,' says Mr Kosky.

'The litigation department is a bit less manic than non-contentious transactional departments, where they can work all night.

We are busier during the court terms and have lows during vacations.

I've never thought about leaving law.'WRITERAmy Jenkins, aged 29, wrote the television series about five young lawyers who share a house, This Life, now showing on BBC2 on Monday evenings.

She has just completed a new script for the BBC.

Ms Jenkins left her traineeship with City firm Theodore Goddard after only one year.

'After 12 months of doing conveyancing I knew it wasn't for me,' she says.

'It was so inflexible.

My colleagues were counting up their 17 days holiday a year including bank holidays.

It was a bargain with the devil, this was your life and you were going to spend it somewhere you didn't want to be.

Of course, some people wanted it, but I saw others who were making compromises.

I always wanted to be in the film business.

At first I thought I would do that by becoming an entertainment lawyer, but when I was actually working in the law I could see that was a long way off.

So I left and wrote a script immediately.'ACCOUNTANCY ALLIANCEChris Arnheim, aged 36, is the founding partner of Arnheim & Co, which has just set up an association with big six accountancy firm Price Waterhouse.

Mr Arnheim founded the London office of Hammond Suddards before approaching Price Waterhouse with the suggestion of an alliance.

'I have more freedom than I did at Hammond Suddards because I'm running my own firm,' says Mr Arnheim.

'Marketing is made easier by the fact that I have Price Waterhouse's endorsement, but I still have to impress the Price Waterhouse partners.

It's bloody hard work.

I'm limiting myself to 12 hours a day five days a week because I don't want to burn out.

I might consider leaving law if I could think of any other way to support my two young children but I'd starve doing anything else.'Mr Arnheim will be speaking at the Gazette-sponsored YSG conference.EXPERT WITNESSAnne Luttman-Johnson, aged 33, runs a business giving expert evidence in personal injury cases on the cost of being disabled.

She worked for two years at a Surrey firm doing private client work and conveyancing before leaving private practice.

The national charity the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) recruited her as a legal claims officer, where she set up and ran the PI claims department advising the newly injured on bringing a claim.

Whilst at the charity she began working as an expert witness.

On leaving the SIA she began lecturing on the cost of disability and the needs of clients with disabilities.

'I found private practice too commercially driven,' says Ms Luttman-Johnson.

'When I started articles in the 1980s there was lots of work around but, as the recession set in, it became more pressurised.

Working for a charity didn't live up to my expectations.

Now my quality of life has improved enormously.

Working from home is an excellent system; it's more efficient and I can put more into my social life because I don't come home and collapse from exhaustion every evening.'PROVINCIALJulian Holt, a ged 33, a salaried partner with Manchester firm Elliott & Company, practises personal injury defence work.

Mr Holt moved recently from another Manchester firm.

'My job stress stems from the fact that the litigation system has become a lot more front-end loaded because of changing court rules,' says Mr Holt.

'Now you have to take witness statements for every case.

Hopefully I will become an equity partner; it's either that or get out of the law.

If I did, I'd like to run a nice bistro restaurant.'FREELANCENatalie Siabkin, aged 36, freelances in litigation and family work.

Ms Siabkin worked for a succession of four different London firms over 13 years.

She left the first because she did not want to specialise too narrowly.

At the second and third she was offered partnerships but declined because of a growing disillusionment with private practice.

As a freelancer, Ms Siabkin can set her sights on short-term assignments.

She also plans to train as a mediator.

'I have more freedom now but I have to fight for it,' says Ms Siabkin.

'It's very easy to get sucked back into what your employer wants.

It's not stressful trying to find work because the market is buoyant in my area.

Freelancers doing probate and conveyancing find it harder.

I have considered buying out a practice but that seems very time consuming and stressful.

I am considering setting up as a freelance advocate, doing my own word processing.

I enjoy what I'm doing and feel it is controllable.

Most freelancers think of themselves as people first and lawyers second.

Some go travelling a lot, some are musicians.

For many it's a deliberate choice.'LOCAL GOVERNMENTTrevor Goode, aged 28, is the planning solicitor for Cambridge City Council.

He has always worked in local government, doing his articles with Wrekin District Council in Telford after it offered him financial support through law school.

After qualifying he moved to Cardiff City Council where he specialised in planning and commercial property, and to Cambridge where he specialised exclusively in planning.

'I think my next position will either be in a management post with a local authority or working for a private law firm as a planning specialist,' says Mr Goode.

'I like moving around, meeting new people and working in different environments.

Working for a local authority allows you to have responsibility for large complex projects at a very early stage in your career.

It also encourages you to become a more rounded lawyer because there is contact with both specialist clients and elected members.'LEGAL AIDNeil Scott, aged 33, is an equity partner in Taunton firm Alms & Young, where he did his traineeship, practising family and criminal work.

He left to practise commercial property work before returning to the firm, which is currently applying for a legal aid franchise.

'The rewards in a legal aid firm are much lower than in the City but the pressure is less,' says Mr Scott.

'I am fortunate to live in a nice part of the world where I have a house and I drive to work through the countryside.

The main burden is a young family.'COMMERCE AND INDUSTRYJoanne Crawford, aged 33, is the head of the agent finance litigation unit at Royal Life Holding Ltd.

Ms Crawford worked at a Chester legal aid firm for two years before moving in-house to work on commercial contract disputes in a large legal department.

A restructuring required her to manage a 'process-based' unit of lawyers and support staff.

Although not previously attracted by partnership, she now has similar responsibilities.

'Working in-house is not a soft option, ' says Ms Crawford.

'There can be benefits such as varied remuneration packages and flexible working hours for junior staff.

However, the pressures on lawyer managers are significant.

Work is quality and results led, rather than costs driven, but there is constant review of cost effectiveness by the accountancy trained managers to whom I report.

Adaptability is important, and I would never rule out going back to private practice.'