A case of the vet and the taxidermist


The introduction of multi-disciplinary partnerships with the Legal Services Bill holds no fears for Helen Mahy, chairwoman of the influential GC100 group of general counsel. 'They remind me of the vet and taxidermist who went into business together,' Ms Mahy, whose day-job is group company secretary and general counsel at National Grid, said last week. 'Their slogan was: "No matter what happens, you're sure to get your pet back."'



It was a rare moment of levity in the panel discussion following Professor Stephen Mayson's presentation on the shape of legal services after the Bill, given at the College of Law in the City, where he predicted that up to 3,000 law firms could be wiped out.



Commenting on the professor's lecture, Law Society President Fiona Woolf said he had the 'biggest brain in legal services'. She confessed to being at a loss, however, quite how to convey his message to the profession - 'because he sounded like the Office of Fair Trading, Which? and the Consumer Council rolled into one'.