You might not think of in-house lawyers as an amorous bunch, but the Commerce and Industry (C&I) Group's London speed networking event last week - the brainchild of Legal & General's general counsel Geoffrey Timms - attracted the group's biggest turnout for any social event other than the annual booze-up, sorry, dinner. Could it have been the lure of in-house romance that brought the lawyers flocking in? London's Atlantic Bar & Grill was packed with 80 well-groomed and nervous lawyers, each sporting either a red or a green badge. Every three minutes, a town crier (pictured below with C&I London chairman Deepak Malhotra) fiercely rang his bell and shrieked 'greens meet greens!' or 'greens meet reds!' The eager lawyers scurried off to find a partner, their fresh faces becoming increasingly frazzled as the evening wore on. Some had flashbacks to cruel games of musical chairs as they frantically circled the room in search of the last red. As the pressure became too much for some, professional ethics went out of the window as lawyers chatted to the wrong coloured badges, or worse still, to people they already knew. But the real shock factor of the evening was how many of these discerning lawyers - Obiter estimates more than a third - admitted that they had also been speed dating. As one in-houser - well into his sixties - said: 'I find in speed dating three minutes is more than enough to decide whether or not you fancy someone. But it's not really long enough to establish a business relationship.' So was the quest for love really the reason behind the high turnout? It seems there was another factor at play. As Siemens' legal manager Martin Heath told Obiter: 'I have been asking everyone why they came tonight. At least half of them said "because Geoffrey Timms made me".' But hats off to Mr Timms - much fun was had by all.