Daily Diary

Wagner’s ring-binder

Posted 28/04/2008 by The Daily Diary

Whether it’s one of those Channel Five ’50 most embarrassing celebrity moments featuring a barnyard animal… ever!’ clip-shows on a Sunday evening or The American Lawyer’s slightly more reserved Dealmakers of the Year list, everyone loves a good countdown to get a bit of debate going.

Last week Allen & Overy (A&O) emerged victorious from one such event – Germany’s prestigious ‘best secretary’ award, which was claimed by top A&O blotter-jotter Marc-Oliver Schlichtmann.

Schlichtmann, who is based at A&O’s Hamburg office, became the first bloke to scoop the coveted gong, striking a blow for the 2% of German secretaries that are male.

However, this column was surprised more by the fact that the winner works for a law firm. After all, most legal secretaries can’t even take down a number correctly – unless there’s some other explanation for all those partners not returning The Diary’s calls.