You've got to feel a tad sorry for the French partners in the independent Paris firms – given the massive influx of Anglo-Saxon lawyers into their beautiful city.

Especially as the hard-nosed Anglo-Saxon business lawyers do not tend to be hugely blessed with, er, shall we say, diplomatic skills.

Indeed, one leading French partner was so incensed at the condescending approach to the French firms, he let off steam to a startled Legal Week hack.

"Why the f**k do they not seem to take us seriously," he stormed. "They seem to think we are a bunch of f*****g amateurs, which can't be true because if anyone bothered to look at our turnover figures they would know we aren't."

For once a case of excuse his, rather than our French…