The legal industry is no stranger to long hours. Worse, trainees are bottom of the food chain and can be dealt the most gruelling hours of all. Before you decide where to apply, it’s worth thinking about how important work/life balance is to you. As a general rule, smaller and mid-sized firms tend to have slightly more reasonable hours than City of London giants, or international outfits which work across different time zones. That said, some firms are better at addressing the work/life balance than others. A firm that cares about your wellbeing should have systems in place to check that work is distributed evenly among the team and even offer some respite following a particularly busy case or transaction. These Legal 500 Future Lawyers Winner firms have struck the right equilibrium. Click on a firm name to read their Legal 500 Future Lawyers profile and see how they scored in other categories.