Less a trend than a way of life, working through weekends and missing anniversaries is a prerequisite for most City lawyers these days, with one or two recent tales of overworked woe tugging at even the world-weary heartstrings of The Diary.

So exhausted was one Baker & McKenzie partner that she recently struggled to remember which year she had returned from maternity leave – slightly worrying given that the year in question was, er, 2005. Let’s hope there aren’t any family birthdays coming up.