Tulkinghorn is launching a campaign of naming and shaming in an effort to eradicate lawyers' bullyboy tactics, and in the dock this week are the members of Theodore Goddard's softball team.
A new partner at Watson Farley & Williams, Ian Rose, has a narrow boat moored at Regent's Park and often takes his dog, Flossy (above), for a walk there. He recently encountered a gaggle of Theodore Goddard lawyers playing softball (well known to be a bit of a rough sport) in the park. But it seems that Flossy and Rose were making too much noise and interfering with play. Both were told to shut up and stop disrupting the game. Poor Flossy was only playing with her 'squeaky cheese' toy. Now, boys and girls, these tactics just won't wash, not with Tulkinghorn and certainly not with Rose, who two days after the incident gave a seminar on cutting down noise pollution in Europe.
And Flossy isn't the only one making too much noise – Linklaters & Alliance has been getting a bit rowdy too. With all those deals going on, working into the night and at weekends is commonplace, but it seems they're disturbing the neighbours.
Tulkinghorn understands that residents of the Barbican have been complaining that Linklaters' lawyers simply make too much noise, whether it be taxis coming and going late at night, lawyers leaving the building talking at the top of their voices or celebrations as the latest cross-border M&A gets concluded in the early hours to whoops of delight.
Tulkinghorn understands that meetings have taken place between the Residents' Association and Linklaters to see how the problem can be averted. Tulkinghorn suggests simply putting a sock in it.