When rumour reached The Lawyer's offices that lawyers at Leamington firm Wright Hassall had been getting their kit off in the carpark at lunchtime, Tulkinghorn's suspicion was naturally aroused. Not only that, but according to the rumours there were camels involved.
But before getting on the telephone to the RSPCA and the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors, Tulkinghorn thought he'd pay a visit to the firm himself. What greeted him was a group of lawyers taking a belly dancing class in the carpark – in the middle of winter no less. (They're obviously a hardy breed, those Leamington lawyers.) The camels, which turned out to be large silver models, had kindly been lent to the firm by a high street clothing store to apparently add a touch of authenticity – although Leamington in winter is a far cry from Turkey.
It turns out that belly dancing is the latest stage of the firm's 'development and awareness scheme'. Other sessions have included salsa, feng shui, Indian head massage and reiki.
Interested to know if any City firms had similar schemes in place, Tulkinghorn did an informal survey of a few friendly lawyers in London. It seems as if such schemes in the City usually take place at the local hostelry.
