It is an unfortunate state of affairs that many Londoners are 'geographically challenged' and are criminally unaware of the world and life outside of the capital.

Lawyers can be no different, and it can be very disheartening when younger lawyers with great potential seriously hamper their careers by limiting themselves to as far as Regent Street when they say they are keen to consider a firm in the west.

However, there is a a growing awareness of the legal sectors outside of London.

Many are aware that the long-established major legal centres - Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester - can offer a lively cosmopolitan lifestyle combined with high-level legal work - and in many cases a greatly improved opportunity for career progression.

However, it is the newer legal centres on the block that are now becoming popular spots for lawyers at either end of the career spectrum.

Oxford, Reading and Cambridge are all fast-developing legal centres, leading the way in tomorrow's industries.

In the south-east, Guildford, Southampton and Tunbridge Wells are popular alternatives to London.

So if a lawyer has the flexibility to move to further their career, how can they go about their research? We would not advocate the method of logging on to 24-hour CCTV cameras that persuaded one US family to move to the 'safest place in England'.

It turned out that the cameras in Colchester were only trained on car-parks.

However, trawling the legal parts of the Internet will give a broad view of the cultural and lifestyle aspects of any area.

Increasingly the legal press and the directories will give good views of different parts of the country.

Even the firms themselves produce literature about life in the area, and will be keen to give guidance as to important issues such as property prices, local schools and commutable rural locations.

Don't forget that a 40-minute commute from central London gets you to another part of London, whereas in may other cities it will get you to beautiful countryside and a village that you can buy - OK, perhaps not the latter, but how many junior lawyers at any London firm can seriously afford a three-bedroomed house with a bit of land?

The firms themselves are seeing the sense in helping with this geographical re-education.

Many good firms are more than happy to assist with the relocation process itself - some to the extent of posting local newspapers; others financially by offering relocation expenses to senior lawyers they are keen to land.

If you are wondering where your career may be going in London, the first step is to get a map.

Keith Miles and Liz Neser are senior regional consultants at Graham Gill