Alma mater

My annual legal pilgrimage took place a fortnight ago to Bologna, home of the first university whose faculty of law dates back to 1088 (thereby predating even some of the lecturers at the College of Law). The youthful institution flourished under a certain Irnerius, whose practical project to bring order to the corpus of Roman law spread quickly beyond the borders of the city. Meanwhile, Bolognese lawyers still live and eat superbly well in the graceful city of arcades. Typical are the avvocati of Studio Legale Santini whose members each have a personal shiny brass plate adorning their offices in the smart district of Santo Stefano. No wonder some Italian lawyers query whether the Anglo-American model is necessarily the right approach.

Heads up

To get ahead in today’s legal world, however, forget legal education. Instead, persuade someone to pour a jug of water over you and then make sure a photographer is around to get the snap. It will certainly win you headlines.

That is why the celebrity divorce lawyer Fiona Shackleton heads this year’s Sweet & Maxwell table for the lawyers with the most media coverage. Shackleton, who represented Sir Paul McCartney in his divorce from Heather Mills, has featured in 274 national and regional press articles. This heady statistic and a general obsession with anything Dianetic (notably the inquiry starring Michael Mansfield, QC) has pushed human rights lawyers, who normally take the top spots, out of the running. The divorce lawyers have won it by a clear head this year, leaving everyone else (including the City lawyers) tearing their hair with jealousy.

Divorce made easy

Given the omens from Legal Business magazine that corporate work will be a bit thin on the ground, perhaps more lawyers ought to be aiming to follow Shackleton and get into traditional family work. Apparently post-holiday periods are the most popular for split-ups so maybe now is the time to make the move.

As the McCartney affair demonstrated the posh divorce is now almost as popular as the smart wedding, and the bankers Duncan Lawrie have been offering lawyers their services as expert witnesses in the accompanying complex financial advice process. So successful has Duncan Lawrie’s service become that earlier this year it held a champagne reception at the National Portrait Gallery with guests from firms such as Miles Preston and Co, Fosters, Charles Russell and Alexiou Fisher Philips. Water jugs were on hand for those who needed them.

Chin chin

How much the Beijing Olympics have changed the West’s view of China remains to be seen but the London and Geneva law firm Collyer Bristow has picked a Chinese theme for Contemporary Chinoiserie, its first art exhibition of the new season in its private gallery. I suspect there will be more to come.

edward.fennell@yahoo.co.uk

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