Shakespeares lawyer heads for Lithuania

Shakespeares partner Nigel Davis (pictured above left with fellow partner Mike Hibbs) said farewell to Birmingham last week, before heading to Lithuania where he will help firms to develop western management techniques.

Davis, head of the firm's agricultural department, travelled to Vilnius as a representative of the British Executive Service Overseas.

He will be advising firms on areas such as training, marketing and IT.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Malcolm Rifkind QC, officially opened the new Regent Street offices of the International Bar Association last week.

In a speech given to guests from Germany, India, Norway and the UK, Rifkind praised the IBA's "very active" human rights work and its efforts to maintain the rule of law.

"The work of the IBA is not just legal, it is international," he said. "It has quite a substantial political element affecting the rights and opportunities of millions of people around the world."