One good thing about the hours solicitors work is that they don't have the time to get bogged down in troubling introspection, but for those with a spare half-hour and a desire to find out more about themselves, Obiter has been contacted by a third-year psychology student at London Metropolitan University who wants to discover whether solicitors in different areas of law have similar personalities.

Could it be, for example, that all probate lawyers are happy-go-lucky risk takers who like to walk on the wild side? Margreet Hendriks is aiming to find links between the choice of area of law and personality - especially the so-called big five which psychologists believe are the primary dimensions of personality: openness, agreeableness, extroversion, conscientiousness and neuroticism.

Even the suggestion that solicitors could be neurotic shocks Obiter, but if you want to be involved on a confidential basis - and personal feedback can be provided - e-mail james@margreet.freeserve.co.uk, or tel: 020 8530 7147.