Choppy waters

Ed Coode, MBE, the Olympic rowing gold medallist — now a trainee with Burgess Salmon — will be the celebrity factor at the launch tonight at City Law School of All You Need to Know About Being a Trainee Solicitor (published by Longtail) by Elizabeth Cruikshank and Penny Cooper.

Conceived three years ago in what now seems a very different world, Cooper (who teaches law at City) says that a number of changes have been made to bring it bang up to date. In particular, with prospects deteriorating daily in the economy, she fears that law firms will be unable to keep their promise to maintain normal levels of recruitment. The guide, therefore, is a worldly wise introduction to being savvy as a trainee to avoid the gaffes that might ruin a career before it even starts. Stress and alcohol, amorous advances from clients, health, money and how to create your own “brand” all feature in what looks like an important survival guide for trainees entering the law at its most distressed state in a generation.

Wakey-wakey

This morning LexisNexis will be in Chancery Lane giving its review of the impact of the recession on the legal world. And how all-pervasive it is. Drawing on feedback from lawyers scattered around the country, the review will paint a picture of men losing out in the redundancy round, divorces delayed because of economic uncertainty and banks increasingly using their powers to recoup outstanding debts through taking possession of debtors’ homes. Yes, it will be a great start to the day.

Order from chaos

Words may be cheap but they don’t come free so Dechert is doing an excellent job in continuing to back the Poet in the City initiative. The driving force is Jason Butwick, the partner who has ensured that the firm provides virtually the whole administrative and infrastructure support for what is one of the best arts initiatives in London.

On Monday, however, it excelled itself with a dazzling celebration of John Milton’s poetry at the super new venue King’s Place in King’s Cross. With a line-up of Andrew Motion, the Poet Laureate, John Waite, the BBC Radio 4 presenter, and the literary figure Claire Tomalin — plus the splendid poetry of Milton himself — it could scarcely have been better. And after the Pre-Budget Report earlier in the day it seemed appropriate to be reflecting on Paradise Lost.

Ditch it

I know that Shoreditch House is the hot place to party so I was impressed when Russell Jones & Walker hired it for its drinks event last week. What a letdown! Reception was shambolic, welcome and recognition were non-existent and hanging around in the gloom of the fourth floor was like being stuck in a claustrophobic 1970s car park with a gang of people who’d lost their car keys and couldn’t leave. Or was I in Milton’s Hell?

edward.fennell@yahoo.co.uk

Times Recommends

• City law firms prepare for painful year ahead
• Welcome to 2009: the year of the regulator
• Thacher Proffitt is latest US legal casualty