THE LAWYER
30 MARCH 2009
TULKINGHORN
Fred Astaire:
Wellcome influence
Movers and
shakers
Dancing his way through
the offices of The Wellcome
Trust, John Stewart is one
smooth operator.
The charity’s general
counsel (and the subject
of this week’s in-house
interview) has had three and
a half years of contemporary
dance training. Stewart’s
passion for pirouettes
began after he took a seat
on the board of governors at
The Place, the country’s
largest contemporary
dance centre, and the
54-year-old is now on Level 2
of the Humphrey/Limon
technique.
Now, having appeared in
two performances in front of
live audiences, he’s hooked.
Hats off (and a tap of the
cane) to Stewart. Which leads
Tulkinghorn to wonder how
many other lawyers are
leotard-friendly? Who else
likes a jive, a rhumba or a
waltz? Answers, please, to:
tulkinghorn@thelawyer.com
THE SHARP END
REX
Gewgaw law
Tulkinghorn has the utmost
sympathy for lawyers
who’ve been made
redundant. In fact,
he raises a glass to the
poor souls several times a
day. So, when word reached
him of a decent
job opportunity,
the only decent
thing to do was
to spill the
beans.
A company
called Carbolic
Smoke Ball, which
specialises in selling legal
memorabilia, has written
in asking for help finding
someone to run its new
shop.
Clearly a sense of
humour is required, as
evidenced by the ‘See you
in court!’ badge and the
riotous ‘Real men marry
lawyers’ T-shirt.
And good sales skills are
a must when it comes to
selling fountain pens for
just shy of a grand.
Law students will recall
learning about the original
makers of the Carbolic
Smoke Ball. They were
bankrupted in 1893 after
promising to pay £100 to
anyone who contracted flu
after using their product.
The modern company is
run by former Ashurst
Morris Crisp lawyer Philip
Jenks. Tulkinghorn hopes
he has better luck.
Street star
named Uría
While sharing a hot toddy
with a South American
fellow on his return to
England, Tulkinghorn
learnt of a heartwarming
story concerning Spanish
firm Uría Menéndez.
Following an
earthquake in Peru in
2007, Uría volunteers and
donations contributed to
the reconstruction of the
small town of San Matías,
rebuilding some 39 houses.
This month news
reached the firm that, due
to the popular request of
the townsfolk, the town’s
main road has been named
‘Rodrigo Uría’
to recognise
the firm’s
co-founder.
Such a tale
warms the
cockles, but it
also got one
thinking: could one
imagine driving up Simon
Davis Avenue? Or David
Childs Boulevard? Doesn’t
quite have the same ring.
Sugar
chump
BBC1’s hit reality TV series
The Apprentice has once
again captivated viewers
across the UK.
But before it even aired
last Tuesday (24 March)
Sir Alan Sugar’s show had
Separated at birth
Gilmour: Final Cut
Ivories coasting
Denton Wilde Sapte tax partner Jeremy
Cape (right) has found a novel way of
picking up clients – serenading them on
the piano in hotel bars.
On a recent business development trip to
Rwanda, Cape found himself playing
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
on the hotel piano, when a fellow British
guest came over to find out what he was
playing. It transpired that the stranger was
building a chain of hotels and was on the
hunt for a lawyer. Cape was, of course, happy
to oblige. After all, the lyrics do go: “That
certain night, the night we met, there was
magic abroad in the air.” Oh how true.
already claimed its first victim
in one Adam
Freeman. The
only Adam
Freeman
Tulkinghorn
knows is
a banking
and
finance star
at Linklaters.
Tulkinghorn
can see it now. Not content
with partnership
at the magic
circle firm,
Freeman
applied to
become
Sugar’s
next
apprentice
and made
the final cut.
But he
#WWW.THELAWYER.COM
TULKINGHORN 21
Which
graduate
recruitment
partner made a
student cry when
conducting a mock
interview?
GETTY
Contributions welcome (in confidence of course)
The Lawyer, St Giles House,
50 Poland Street, London W1F 7AX,
Tel 020 7970 4620, fax 020 7970 4640,
tulkinghorn@thelawyer.com
Playing the piano is ‘key’ to winning clients
succumbed to pressure
and dropped out one day
before the first episode was
due to be filmed.
Tulkinghorn is shocked.
One would assume a magic
circle firm would prepare
you for the stress and high
pressure of any challenging
business environment.
Or maybe Sugar is more
scary than ‘pussycat’ David
Cheyne.
Sheehan: final month DiPietro: Freak Out Zappa: legal clout
The legal sector may have got a whole lot quieter recently, but one US partner and a specialist on law firm finances have come up with a
novel way to keep busy during the recession.
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom executive partner Bob Sheehan has been moonlighting as prog rock legend David Gilmour of Pink
Floyd fame, while Citi Private Bank law firm group head Dan DiPietro has been going under the guise of fellow rock royalty Frank Zappa.
For crazy diamond Sheehan the change of persona makes sense, given that he is stepping down from his Skadden management role
next month.
Although his reported demise meant an untimely end to his musical experimentation a number of years ago, more recently Zappa’s
incarnation has appeared in the pages of The Lawyer urging New York’s top firms to take a lead in reshaping associate compensation.
REX
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