Daily Diary

Our Tone: a tribute to Linklaters' guardian Angel (part three)

Posted 25/01/2007 by The Daily Diary

In the final part of a series that seems to have dragged on even longer than Tony Angel's reign of terror, a (former) Linklaters partner shares his personal recollections of the City's last true angry man.

"Of course, I had many fond memories of the Bucharest office – or ‘Siberia & Alliance’, as Silk Street wags amusingly dubbed it.

"Some had warned that conditions could be harsh, with 10 partners huddled round a single Bunsen burner for warmth as the wind howled outside. But I found being with similarly-minded colleagues meant we were never short of conversation. There was constant frustration, however, that the back-room boys couldn’t seem to get the phones working. Sometimes it would go weeks between calls…

"Missing Blighty, I retired from the firm the following year, but I found plenty to occupy myself. Still, I will never forget where I was when I heard the news that Tony was stepping down – it was a particularly testing Conundrum on Countdown that day.

"I do sometimes wonder whether Tony sacrificed some of the personality, colour and individuality that had for years been the hallmarks of Linklaters. I even feel sorry for some of the chaps still there, but then I remember it could be so much worse – they could be at Freshfields."

There is no part four.