Being a lawyer isn't always about hard work, as Gideon Cristofoli, partner at Hampshire firm Bookers & Bolton, can testify. Cristofoli acts for the organisers of the Miss England competition and was recently asked by his client to act as a judge in one of the regional heats.


Always keen to provide the best possible client service, Cristofoli agreed to spend the day assessing the talents of some of Surrey's young ladies. However, Cristofoli insists that - whatever readers might assume - there is more to the judging process than merely ogling the superficially pulchritudinous attributes of the contestants. What the judges are looking for, he explains, is the girls' 'inner beauty', and they are judged on their answers to a series of challenging questions such as: 'What is your favourite pastime?' and 'What is your favourite film?'



Cristofoli confessed that he can't actually remember what the winning contestant's answers to these questions were, but anyway it was a very important part of the rigorous assessment process. He is pictured (left) happily sandwiched between the winner of the Miss Surrey heat, Chloe Marshall - who caught the interest of the Daily Mail because of her body mass index - and current Miss England Georgia Horsley (whom we think bears an uncanny resemblance to the actress Billie Piper).



So has Cristofoli copped any stick from other clients or colleagues who think the event is a bit, dare we say, sexist? Not exactly. 'Most of them have been asking me how they can get to do it themselves,' he says, adding: 'When you work in the dry world of law, you need some of these clients to brighten your day'.