Family lawyers deal with legal matters relating to marriage, separation, divorce, cohabitation and all issues relating to children (eg, maintenance and access arrangements, and adoption both in England and internationally). Family law also encompasses financial negotiations, inheritance issues and prenuptial contracts. Some family law cases involve substantial assets and complex financial arrangements, or high-profile cases with well-known personalities.

Family law developments are very much driven by changes in society, and although the role of a family law solicitor calls for an astute legal mind you also need softer skills such as tact and sympathy.

Nicola Fisher is an associate at Forsters, a Mayfair firm noted for its family practice. "I was interested in family law right from the start," says Nicola. "With law in mind, I did a couple of work placements during my A-levels. I did a week at a solicitors' firm in Halifax and a few days at a firm in Dewsbury."

Although she had initially found herself careering towards a law degree, Nicola decided at the last minute to study economics and social sciences at the University of Manchester, a degree that allowed her to specialise in her other central interest: sociology. She later realised that her two interests marry well. "I'm drawn to people-based problems, as opposed to companies or property, and I think this is the link between sociology and my interest in family law. However, the academia of law is different from that of sociology, in that law is much more disciplined, with a rigid structure."

With a firm grasp of her interest - and, by the time she graduated, a confirmed desire to work in the law - Nicola adopted a strategic career path. "After university I applied to do work experience at firms I knew were top at family," she explains. "I knew I never wanted to work for a firm that was a niche family firm; I wanted experience in other practices as well. So it's no coincidence that I did work experience placements at Manches and Dawsons, which are among the top 30 in London. When I looked at the top 30 firms for family in London and then stripped out those that did nothing other than family and those that did not provide sponsorship, there were not many left."

After a year split temping and travelling, Nicola resumed the path by enrolling on the GDL at The College of Law in Guildford. The difference between a sociology degree and a one-year law crammer was marked, though: "Turning my mind to the study of law was very different from an academic point of view."

By signing up to do her training contract at Forsters, Nicola assured herself of the variation she wanted, along with the comfort of working in a renowned family practice. She started off in corporate. "It was a particularly busy time and I felt I was only scratching the surface with a lot of things," she recalls. "Some days there would be no time to grasp the bigger picture and other days I'd be doing more menial work or smaller things. The nature of the work was very varied. Then I went on to construction. I was dreading it because I thought I'd find it really boring - but I loved it! I had a wonderful supervisor who wanted to impart knowledge and let me know what was going on." A further seat in property litigation was enjoyable and provided great supervision and quality of work, but a move to property confirmed that family was still her number one choice. Due to Forsters' unconventional six-seat training contract, Nicola was able to round off her training with a double seat in family, neatly delivering her to the department upon qualification.

"In family," Nicola notes, "perhaps because of the sensitive nature of the client contact, I wasn't given a very high level of responsibility as a trainee in comparison to other departments. You certainly don't run your own files as you do in other departments. So since I qualified, the main difference has been having responsibility released to me: now I have my own files. As a junior solicitor I'm running the less complex cases and then I'm involved in bigger cases on a more junior level. It's quite a difference - but there's still a long way to go!"

Her workload varies from administrative tasks - "mundane but crucial" - right through to high-pressure issues. Says Nicola: "The situations that come up in family can be mind-boggling. Because you're dealing with people's lives on such a personal level it does have a quirky, interesting side to it, with quite a sensitive element. But at the same time clients need robust advice because often you're telling them things they don't ideally want to hear."

The actual work swings mainly between child and matrimonial cases. "One of the cases I ran was a child contact case with issues to do with a parent's use of alcohol. On a more junior level, I was involved in a case to do with false allegations of sexual abuse. Then there's the ancillary relief side of things. The case I'm currently working on has a jurisdictional slant to it: it's Hong Kong, Australia and UK-based. I've also been involved in a large aristocracy divorce settlement after a long marriage with children, and I have done a separation agreement. The department is also getting pre-nuptial agreements and leave-to-remove work, which is when a parent wants to remove a child from an area or jurisdiction. Hopefully I'll be able to get some experience there."

Nicola's as sure of her career highlight as she is of everything else. The first time she held a client meeting was an epiphany for her. "It was just me and a client," she remembers. "I came out on a real high, thinking, 'Heck, I must be a solicitor after all!' Someone had sat there and listened to what I had to say and advice was flowing out of me. That was a real progress moment." The practice of law still excites her, especially because in family you get to see inside people's lives and help them effect a change. "It is the most interesting area of law," she says. "That's because it stems from people's problems and the things people get up to. And from a sociological point of view, it deals with such interesting issues - for example, the way the court views the roles of women and men in a marriage. For me it's a fascinating area of law because of the people element, but also because it's a reflection of society."

The client contact may be one of the most rewarding aspects of the job, but it can also be the hardest. "Client contact can be difficult because you are sometimes presenting bad news. It's difficult to tell your client things they don't want to hear while at the same time doing a PR job and not making it sound like everything is crumbling around them, and that we do still have a handle on it and can still push it forward. There are so many different situations that can arise and so many different ways of dealing with them. You don't get that in a property department, where there's usually just one way forward. In family there's a real strategy element and particularly challenging client care that's involved."

Nicola's advice for anyone seeking a training contract is to do your research and go on as many vacation schemes as you can. "It's a very good way of getting your foot through the door," she advises. "And keep trying: some people give up after one year - it took me two or three years of trying."