Making deals, at home and at work, is what we all do in our lives every day.

In a busy London corporate law firm, Cooper-Fozard, Stephen Bradley and his team work fast and furious to form mergers, takeovers and buyouts for a range of clients. But it's never as clear and clinical. When colleagues work hard, they often play hard too; and working closely sometimes brings people together after hours. Soon you develop a taste for a good deal, and you can sense a suspicious one at forty paces. And above all, though you don't have to like the people you work with, you learn that you do need to trust them.