War stories

In years to come little children will sit on their parent’s knee and inquire: “What did you do in the financial crisis, Mummy?” At that point those who have had a “good” crisis will regale their offspring with tales of late-night negotiations, early-morning settlements and how they felt when the US bailout was binned. Meanwhile, those who merely sat on the sidelines will hang their heads in bitter shame at an opportunity missed.

And what an opportunity it is. Linklaters is getting tens of millions, apparently, for its work for PricewaterhouseCoopers while Freshfields (for the Bank of England), Denton Wilde Sapte (for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme), Weil Gotshal for Lehman, Lovells and Slaughter and May are all in the mix (plus plenty of others). It will be a heady and expensive cocktail.

Left hand down

I had some sneaking sympathy for Lewis Hamilton when he cut across a corner at the Belgian Grand Prix last month and his appeal against loss of points then failed.

However, it was more complicated than might have appeared to the average bystander. In a legal analysis provided by the lawyers for Ferrari (Hamilton’s principal rival), which I found as incomprehensible as the manual for my car, the case hinged on whether Hamilton should have suffered a “drive-through” penalty or a “time-penalty”. Anyway all of this seems to have riled young Hamilton who, it is said, had a heated exchange when cross-examined by Nigel Tozzi, QC, of 4 Pump Court. “I’m a racing driver,” Hamilton is alleged to have said. “I’ve been racing since I was eight years old and I know pretty much every single manoeuvre in the book and that’s why I’m the best at my job.”

However, the problem was that he didn’t appear to understand the racing rules well enough. Isn’t it time all these drivers had a lawyer alongside them as navigator?

No return?

Today I’m preparing myself emotionally for one of the biggest psychological challenges of the autumn. Each year Shearman & Sterling hold a party at Tate Britain to coincide with the Turnip Prize exhibition. And tonight’s the night. I won’t rehearse all the tired old clichés about the Turnoff but I think many readers will feel sympathy for those of us who have a professional responsibility to attend. Shearmans obviously feel that they get a lot of street cred from their Tate party. However, as we enter the Age of Austerity, maybe this will be one of the luxuries the firm feels it can afford to do without next year.

Legal leanings

I was somewhat alarmed by a publicity shot from the College of Law this week that showed its building in Birmingham, currently being extended, crazily angled and looking like the Leaning Tower of Brum. It needs either the underpinners or the underwriters. Otherwise it will be the undertakers.

edward.fennell@yahoo.co.uk

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