When I first thought about leaving the law I asked my colleagues whether they knew of any solicitors who had given up their jobs to become something else.

The general response was: 'I can think of plenty who would have liked to, but none who actually did.' The long haul to admission generally takes out those who are unsuited to the work.

Other doubters, having got themselves a reasonably secure, well-paid job, and acquired en route debts, mortgages and families, may well decide to stay put.

However, many solicitors have branched out into all kinds of work: farming, acting, producing films, property developing, designing clothes and running a large public company.What surprised me most was the kind of legal career people were prepared to leave.

Over half of the people I spoke to had given up partnerships.

So why did they do it? Some people felt that they had another talent which they really wanted to use.

One solicitor, Madeline Hamilton, had a qualification in English and French law and the prospect of a high-powered career as an international lawyer.

She knew that she did not want to aim at partnership, so wrote a list of what she did want from a career.

This included being more creative and being self-employed.Madeline was articled, and worked for two years after qualifying in City firm Frere Cholmeley.

Having decided that she wanted a change of direction, she worked out by an orderly process of self-examination that what she really wanted to do was to design clothes.

With no previous experience of the industry she set up her own business designing and manufacturing stylish shirts and blouses for women.

The firm is appropriately called Res Ipsa Loquitor (trading as Madeline Hamilton) and the product a rival to Jermyn Street shirts for men.

She sells through Ede and Ravenscroft, Fortnu m and Mason, mail order and her own shop in Islington.Victor Blank was lured away from the law: 'One day a man in a grey suit tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I wanted to help run a merchant bank.' This, as you can imagine, 'was an opportunity that I could not turn down'.

Victor Blank spent all his legal career at Clifford Turner (now Clifford Chance) and became a partner in 1969.

He specialised in corporate takeovers and mergers, acquiring skills which were helpful in merchant banking.

He left Clifford Turner in 1981 and became a director of Charterhouse plc.Annette Holland is a solicitor turned actress.

She was a lawyer for about ten years before deciding to apply for drama school.

Being a solicitor was something of a disadvantage to her when she first applied to drama school - people thought that she was not 'committed' enough.

She suspected that there was also a feeling that anyone who had a better than average earning capacity (she worked as a locum to support her training) somehow was not quite playing fair.

She succeeded though, and has appeared in The Bill, Grange Hill and Surgical Spirit.Christopher Hadfield left the law for not just one but two new careers.

He was admitted in 1978 and practised for ten years, becoming a partner in a City firm.

He enjoyed his work but had an 'acting bug'.

He not only gave up a partnership but moved with his wife and child to Bristol so that he could go to drama school.

His acting career began very well with a year's work at Bristol Old Vic.

Christopher used his spare time to study for an MBA; he now runs his own business consultancy firm.

One of the advantages of running his own business is that he can make time for a bit of acting now and again.

Recently he played a solicitor in The Bill.I asked all the people I spoke to whether being a solicitor helped them in their new careers.

Most said that it had.

Victor Blank had legal knowledge which directly helped in his job at Charterhouse.

The skill which has most helped him - and which came from his days in the law - has been the ability to make a fast judgment on important matters.

The everyday life of a solicitor may seem very different from that of an actor, but both professions require a good deal of self-discipline to ensure success.

The actors I spoke to also found that training in acting skills is a great help in being a solicitor! Madeline Hamilton says that she is regarded with a good deal more respect by business associates when they know her background.Every career move has an element of risk-taking.

The motivation not just to leave but to do something else has to be strong to overcome this.

Annette Holland said she did not want to grow old with the thought that she had always wanted to be an actress, but had simply never tried.Having a professional legal qualification behind you means that you can go back to being a solicitor if all else fails.

And if the new work is the kind which comes and goes, like acting (or writing), there is locum work.And have they regretted it? Well, of course they have no.t - their new careers have brought them all great satisfaction.

Christopher Hadfield (business consultant and actor) says that many people are blessed with a whole range of different talents which it is a great pity not to use.

This is not to say that the law was all bad - something that more than one person I spoke to was at pains to point out.

Victor Blank felt that he had lost working within the community of interest that legal partnership brings.

Within that community he had made valued friendships which do not ar ise so naturally from a business with a hierarchical structure.Like many of the people I spoke to, I am enjoying both getting away from the law (writing plays and short stories) and using my legal knowledge and experience in a new way - by writing about it.

One big advantage of my chosen field is the way I can live a much more exciting life with comparatively little effort.

Staying in the law, I reckoned, I had little chance of becoming a judge.

But I am writing a play about one.

I shall leave the last word on leaving the law with Madeline Hamilton: 'I am having a simply marvellous time.'