Last October, a group of lawyers and actors turned up in a warehouse off Bond Street to create a parallel world, known as the "virtual office".

For two weeks, newly qualified associates at international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer were given a simulated office environment to experience what it was really like to be a busy commercial lawyer, without the fear of making mistakes. They had to deal with clients played by actors, interact with colleagues, do pitches, run mediations and interview witnesses.