Knowing what Knowles knows
Last week David Redfearn, entertainer extraordinaire and master magician, performed something never tried before in legal history. He read the mind of a managing partner. But not just any old managing partner: DLA’s very own Nigel Knowles, no less, whose recent gambits (coming close to opening a Rome office, merger talks with Chicago-Baltimore giant Piper Rudnick, tying knots with firms in Denmark and Norway, splitting in Germany…) have led many to ask: just what is that man thinking?
This is no joke. Redfearn has carved out a career of predicting the future and reading people’s minds. For this he has been dubbed by the national press as the UK’s answer to David Blaine. Once he predicted, with almost 100 per cent accuracy, what the front-page headline would be in the Sunday Express two weeks in advance. Other predictions include guessing people’s signatures, golf scores and how much someone is going to win in a casino. In fact, he is such an adept gambler himself that most London casinos have barred him from entering.
So, what did he see in the mind of Knowles? Last Wednesday (14 July), Redfearn spent half an hour on the phone with the man, listening to him talk about what he has been up to in the last 12 months. All Redfearn now has to do is work out what Big Nige’s next move will be in what some people construe to be his grand plan for DLA to become the next Clifford Chance.
Redfearn has three weeks to work it out. When going to press he said he was still mulling it over. Tulkinghorn predicts, however, that Redfearn may find it hard to tap into Knowles’s dark side – if indeed it exists. After all, Redfearn is very much the charitable man, which was obvious by the fact that last Saturday (17 July) he performed for free at an event of music, comedy and illusion to raise money for Cancer Research UK, which was organised by Tulkinghorn’s very own reporter Brendan Malkin. Perhaps Knowles’ secrets are safe after all.
Those wishing to book David Redfearn for corporate events, or if you just want to find out what your turnover will be in a year’s time, can call him on 07850 060719. Also, take a look at his website (www.redfern-magic.com).
