Paul HarrisThe City of London Law Society's (CLLS') concerns about the problems and issues affecting assistant solicitors have been borne out by the results of our joint survey with Legal Week.

The Society's Whittington Committee, which focuses on the professional interests of young solicitors, produced a questionnaire on lifestyle and aspirations and the responses, from an equal number of men and women across a whole range of London practices, highlight some of the problems currently facing the profession, which the CLLS believes cannot be ignored.

Among the most alarming statistics, and potentially the most damaging to the profession, are that 31% of those who responded admitted that their ultimate goal is having another career, 45% admitted regretting their choice of profession and 80% said that they kept an eye out for other job opportunities. If these figures truly reflect what the profession is feeling, the implications would appear to be extremely serious.