Last week, the BBC made me feel like I had. ‘This Life’ was a 1990s drama about young lawyers starting out in London, and it’s celebrating its 30th anniversary. Apparently, it depicted legal life rather accurately.  

I wouldn’t know, because it coincided with my training contract and it completely passed me by.  

Thirty years ago I was a young lawyer starting out in London. I had no problem with hard work, but the consistent 12 to 48 hour days didn’t leave much time for living this life or keeping up with friends, let alone to watch This Life — or Friends — on TV. The profession has changed since then, in some ways for the better and in some ways not nearly enough. 

Which made me wonder:  

What was the first moment in your career when the gap between what you expected and the reality impacted your life?