God Alp us: it must have been a truly terrifying sight in 219 BC when Hannibal, the Carthaginian general, led a marauding army across the Alps in winter and attacked Rome. Some 2,216 years later, it must have been equally terrifying - for unsuspecting members of the public at least - to see 16 lawyers partially retracing the steps of the great military strategist (and doing so without the aid of any elephants). An army marches on its billable hours, as Napoleon once didn't say. 'We did have a few problems, with two of our team suffering from altitude sickness,' reports David Leckie, the London-based partner of UK firm Maclay Murray & Spens and organiser of the two-day trip by members of the international network Lex Mundi. 'This may have been brought on by my bad piping. Aside from that, it was a tremendous experience.' The Lex Mundi invasion - inspired by a book written by Mr Leckie's brother that is being made into a Hollywood film - was in a good cause, raising £15,000 for the Fredericks Foundation, which offers loans and support to disadvantaged individuals to help them start up in business.