It is a worry for the state of the profession that Obiter keeps receiving disturbing evidence of solicitors willingly throwing themselves off tall buildings.

Could it be a legal equivalent of the Wall Street crash, or are lawyers taking things a bit too literally when they promise to respond when their clients tell them to jump? In these two cases, the lawyers involved were, in fact, attached to ropes as part of a charity abseil, but one particularly has to question David Marshall - president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, no less, and senior partner of south London firm Anthony Gold - for sanctioning such stunts.

The relieved-looking team is from his firm, and they abseiled from the top of Guy's Hospital tower, which, at 450 feet, is the highest building in London from which you can abseil and is taller than the London Eye.

They raised more than 1,250 for Cancer Research UK and more than a little blood pressure all round.

A similar story in Birmingham, where this team from Lee Crowder raised more than 6,000 for local charity Birmingham Focus on Blindness by zip-lining from the top of the Mailbox building and abseiling down the side of the Santa Fe restaurant.

Team member and senior partner Stephen Gilmore said: 'It was a wonderful way to raise money for a worthwhile cause.

My only worry is that our clients may expect us to be more adventurous next year.'