Linklaters associate doubles his salary and goes out singing

Linklaters has lost its finest musical talent to a client, after Stockholm associate Joacim Björk signed up to join Linden Gruppen as senior counsel.

Before leaving, Björk emailed the entire firm a thank-you note and the words to his greatest hit so far - Viva Linklaters.

The song, arranged to the tune of Viva Las Vegas, was originally used as a marketing tool to attract student talent to Linklaters from Swedish universities.

Björk wrote in his email: “Thanks for the best years in my professional life - thus far. You may put up with the following worked up version of Viva Las Vegas - to be sung at office parties, client events or, why not, down at the coffee vending machine.”

Explaining his reasons for leaving, Björk told The Lawyer: “They doubled my salary and I just couldn’t refuse.”

Despite starting his new job on Monday, Björk said he was working on a new song for Linklaters.

He said: “I have another one in the box. Instead of ‘I just called to say I love you’, I’m going to do ‘I just called to say I sue you’.”

Here’s the song:

Viva Linklaters

I'm just a lawyer but my future looks bright, my future looks so bright
I work all day yet I party all night, party all of the night
There's a thousand pretty women waiting out there
Deep pocket clients everywhere
A huge potential for a love affair, with
Vivaaa Linklaters, Vivaaa Linklaters

Viva Linklaters, there's a party going
There are lawyers working for you - 24 hours a day
Viva Linklaters, bunch of alligators
If you've met them once you'll never be the same again

The high profile cases gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire
Got a full hand of legal grounds so just stay cool, and get those stakes up
higher
There will be sues and counter sues, believe it's real
A million won or lost on every deal
But all you need's a strong heart and a nerve of steel
So, Vivaaa Linklaters, Vivaaa Linklaters
Vivaaaaa, Vivaaaaa, Linklaters!