In the third of a series of pieces on junior lawyers’ working lives, Rachel Rothwell finds the search for work/life balance is more elusive than ever for many associates

Associates do not mince their words when it comes to work/life balance. It is “an empty buzzword pumped round by management”, says one, while others claim they are treated like “slaves” and pushed “to the point of mental or physical breakdown” by a workload that is so overbearing as to be “morally corrupt”.