Daily Diary

Jogo bonito comes to Legal Week

Posted 17/04/2008 by The Daily Diary

Never mind the pulse-quickening Premiership climax or English clubs’ magic circle-like hegemony of the Champions League semi-finals – the beautiful game will be at its most dazzling later this week with the sixth annual Legal & Financial Cup, in association with Legal Week, set to kick off tomorrow.

Thirty teams will be taking part (and taking each other apart) in this year’s competition, which is held in sunny Lisbon from 18th-20th April and is organised for the legal and financial services sectors by London sports agency Top Corner.

Among those chasing trophies instead of trophy clients are magic circle glory-hunters Clifford Chance and Linklaters, plus plucky mid-table City outfit Olswang and international powerhouse Baker & McKenzie. Meanwhile, shin-pads will be at the ready in case of any crunching late tackles from contentious specialist Edwin Coe.

Last year a team of galacticos from Ashurst’s Madrid office clinched the top prize – the second occasion on which they’ve waltzed off with the silverware... as if having a kickabout with your mates on the Cote D’Azur somehow wasn’t reward enough in itself.

While competition between firms promises to be fiercer than a rabid derivatives lawyer, doubtless all will be hoping the profession’s brave boys can stick it to the likes of PricewaterhouseCoopers, which will be flying the flag – possibly a white one – for the accountancy trade.

The Diary will be donning its John Motson-style sheepskin and other antiquated clichés to bring you the very best coverage of the prestigious tournament next week.

Apparently teams are already signing up for the 2009 competition, while this year’s underperformers will doubtless follow the golden rule of both football management and law firm leadership, which has served England’s top clubs and its top legal advisers so well over the years – if at first you don’t succeed, sign your opponents’ best players.