Ambitious young lawyers often find the search for role models depressing particularly when it confirms the popular belief that professional success can only be achieved by making sacrifices in other areas of life.A plausible story, with just one drawback - it does not fit the facts.

Of course plenty of people fit the pattern, but systematic research points in the opposite direction.The reason is that many of the same skills are at a premium in both work and non-work related activity.

If you identify and develop them, success in one sphere tends to enhance the other.

You need: to understand exactly what you want from work, and how to make your job work for you rather than vice-versa; to have well-practised routines for dealing with changing circumstances rapidly and effectively; to know and exploit your personal strengths; and to have acquired the key skills required to maintain a balance between conflicting demands of professional and private life.