Pippa Middleton's gun buddy is Shearman associate
The man photographed brandishing what appeared to be a gun while driving Pippa Middleton in Paris is an associate at Shearman & Sterling who has acted for a small arms manufacturer, it has emerged.
Romain Rabillard
Romain Rabillard, an associate at the US firm’s Paris office, was snapped aiming what looked like a semi-automatic pistol out of the car and could technically face a seven-year prison sentence if police can prove it was a real weapon.
There were even reports this week that Middleton herself, the sister of the Duchess of Cambridge, could be prosecuted and face jail if she was found to have been involved.
Rabillard, a 36-year-old associate, advised German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch on its €295m high-yield bond offering last year as part of a team led by partners Jacques McChesney, Esther Jansen and Mei Lian.
“Heckler & Koch, in operation for more than 60 years, is a leading European manufacturer of small arms,” Shearman stated at the time of the deal.
“The company designs, produces and distributes small arms, including rifles, side arms, fully automatic weapons, grenade launchers and a variety of other related products.”
A French online database of lawyers shows that Rabillard qualified in 2004 and offers German and English as foreign languages.
Shearman declined to comment when contacted today by The Lawyer.
It is the latest fee-earner hiccup to hit Shearman, with trainee Daniel England in the limelight earlier this year when he circulated rules for a lads’ holiday in an e-mail that later went viral (9 February 2012). The firm later said it had taken “appropriate action” after investigating England’s behaviour (16 February 2012).
In 2008, a Shearman associate was sacked after he took a female vacation scheme intern to the Windmill strip club in Soho, but the firm said it had not organised the event and accepted no liability for what happened (4 August 2008).
Readers' comments (16)
Anonymous | 18-Apr-2012 11:45 am
The lads email was inappropriate, puerile and sexist, but this could amount to criminality. What a complete idiot, and very embarrassing for the firm.
Why can't junior lawyers at Shearman exhibit a greater sense of social responsibility?
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Anonymous | 18-Apr-2012 12:08 pm
Quote from former associate in the London office of Shearman "I had to leave... there was too scandal, drug use and sex".
Post also misses out the female partner shipped off to the Far East after a threesome with two male trainees.
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anonymous | 18-Apr-2012 12:29 pm
Shearmans sounds like quite a fun place to work!
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Anonymous | 18-Apr-2012 12:52 pm
Who was the Partner? She sounds fun!
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Anonymous | 18-Apr-2012 2:02 pm
Quote of previous Anonymous poster: "Quote from former associate in the London office of Shearman 'I had to leave... there was too scandal, drug use and sex'.
Post also misses out the female partner shipped off to the Far East after a threesome with two male trainees."
First off, trim your English.
Secondly, you are cheaply mud slinging behind the internet's anonimity curtain.
Comments should be moderated by the site.
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Anonymous | 18-Apr-2012 2:40 pm
Anonymous | 18-Apr-2012 12:08 pm - your comments are completely untrue (apart from the scandal part). Are there even any female partners in the far east?
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Blake Dawson | 18-Apr-2012 2:47 pm
@Anonymous:2.02pm
I stand by my post. You are cheaply mud slinging me.
The story about the threesome is well documented: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/hunt-for-female-partner-at-leading-solicitors-who-had-threesome-with-two-young-trainees-6671748.html
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Anonymous | 18-Apr-2012 3:06 pm
To the poster above: I don't see any mention of Shearman in the link to the article you mention. It mentions a threesome involving a partner, but when I Googled it, nothing came up - so what is your assertion based on?
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Anonymous | 18-Apr-2012 3:56 pm
First hand experience? LOL
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Anonymous | 18-Apr-2012 4:30 pm
This gun incident aside; too many law firms are awash with stuffy, crusty, boring conservative old farts. Applications to Shearman should soar. I would, instead of trying to invoke danage limitation, actively promote this in the firms recruitment literature!
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Danno | 18-Apr-2012 6:06 pm
Yes, because law firms really need more applications at the moment...
...what they do need are clients who trust and respect the fact they're getting efficiency and accuracy from their hours. Antics like this don't help.
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Shearman & Sterling Associate | 18-Apr-2012 10:22 pm
They see me rollin'
They hatin'
Patrolling they tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty
Tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty
Tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty
My music so loud
I'm swangin'
They hopin that they gon' catch me ridin' dirty
Tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty
Tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty
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Anonymous | 19-Apr-2012 11:46 am
Dear Shearman & Sterling Associate:
Given that these are lawyers we are talking about, may I suggest that the alternative lyrics to this song written by Al Yankovic may be more appropriate:
They see me mowin'
My front lawn
I know they're all thinking
I'm so white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Can't you see I'm white n' nerdy
Look at me I'm white n' nerdy!
I wanna roll with-
The gangsters
But so far they all think
I'm too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
Think I'm just too white n' nerdy
I'm just too white n' nerdy
Really, really white n' nerdy
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Anonymous | 19-Apr-2012 5:07 pm
Leaving the comments about boring lawyers, lively firms etc etc etc aside. Would this have even made the news had it not been for the "connection" with Pippa Middleton who herself is only newsworthy for her associations?
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Wyatt Earp | 20-Apr-2012 12:44 pm
Anonymous | 19-Apr-2012 5:07 pm
Would you possibly have a "connection" with Shearman?
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Anonymous | 24-Apr-2012 4:49 pm
Seems that associates of SS in Paris have client contacts that Magic Circle PARTNERS would kill for.
Aren't other firms just envious?
And, no, I have never worked for SS, nor would I want to. But you have to grant it to them. The SS Paris office is printing money.
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