Your objective is set – you want a training contract, the best one imaginable, and you want to get it with the least possible hassle. So how do you decide which sort of law firm you want to work for and then persuade them that you are what they want?

Where you train will matter hugely. Those two years or more will seem much longer if the firm you join does not have a disciplined, varied training programme, or if the people charged with delivering it are not able, committed and friendly. And however much you achieved at university or wherever, when you still had a life, which firm you surrendered it to for training, and why, will tell your next employer a lot about you. Most of all, though, your view of the profession and even your ability to enjoy practice in the long run can be fundamentally influenced by where you train and qualify.