There is, of course, always somebody worse off than you, and Obiter may have found that lawyer.

The journal of the Law Institute of Victoria recently recounted this anonymous account of life at a top New York law firm: 'The partners? Sadistic.

The work? Mind-numbing and pointless.

There are all-nighters in the library, months of document production, 16-hour work days spent without seeing the sun.

Ever meet a client? In your dreams, buddy.

The senior associates are conniving little back-stabbers, the partnership track is non-existent and the unrelenting inhuman stress is just the prelude to divorce, illness and maybe little brushes with psychosis.

Of course, the money is good.

When it comes to money, you can't really beat New York.' Well, that's all right then.