Demands for excessive hours for fear of not getting a promotion is one thing, but that is really symptomatic of the other issue that the article touches on, which is that firms are often bloated with people who are so used to, or jaded by, the status quo that they insist on junior lawyers going through the same tribulation year on year.

The path through a law career, particularly one at a big firm, does not have to be a difficult one. Firms have the money and other resources to be able to tell junior lawyers 'Hey, no matter what, it'll be okay'. Doing that would be at practically no cost to the firm, and would make a world of difference in terms of mental health.

The MBB consulting firms ask juniors to put in similar efforts, but the juniors who get a taste of that life and decide that it's not worth the money end up with very very different exit options.

A relative of mine is a former executive at one of those firms, and he explained to me that when it's clear that a junior isn't coping with the lifestyle, the firm will make the effort to give that junior employee some options for other employment. Usually, that will involve moving into a management position at a client company.

Graduates at law firms who get to the end of their graduate contract and aren't lucky enough to get put onto a permanent contract are just kicked out the door and threatened with a lawsuit if they took any of the firm's IP. Meanwhile, if the firm wants to get rid of someone on a permanent contract, they'll send them on secondment and hope to hell that the client offers them a job after.

I'm a graduate at the moment. I absolutely love the type of work that I'm doing right now, and I would sell my soul to keep doing it. My dedication to this job is more sincere than I could possibly express with words. But I just hate the fucking mantra that firms chant that 'there's no guarantee' of a job at the end of everything. It's no one's fault. HR are really nice, and no partner has treated me poorly or anything like that. It's a great workplace, but I just think that it's so unnecessary to put us through a year of such overwhelming fear and uncertainty.

I think it sucks that despite the grueling recruitment process, the hours, the weekends, the promotional and other events, and the incredibly direct feedback when I make a mistake, there's still nobody around who is prepared to tell me 'Hey Cap, it's all good - you're not going to lose your home'. I feel like after everything that I was put through just to get to where I am, I've earned more than 'Maybe we'll keep you. If we feel like it.'