Few lawyers need reminding that discretion is often the better part of glamour, as all those law firm press releases rather self-defeatingly marked 'Confidential' would seem to indicate.

Nevertheless, it is unusual for a mainstream commercial firm to retreat into the shadowy parts of town more usually the preserve of back street dentists and tax planning specialists.

On a recent fact-finding mission to bonny Belfast, The Diary was surprised to find one reputable local firm planning to swap its current user-friendly facade on a stylish city thoroughfare for a dingy back alley which gets just two hours' sunlight a day.

An insider explained that a hidden entrance was crucial for smuggling publicity-shy clients in and out without conjuring up the whiff of scandal.

"In a city as small as Belfast," an insider whispered, "a discreet entrance is essential."