Attenshun to detail

For organisations that should put accuracy and attention to detail at the heart of everything they do, it is truly amazing how often law firms send us draft press releases or other documents by mistake - recently, one US firm sent us a Legal 500 entry rather than a considerably less interesting deal notification.

The most recent example - and really, this happens more often than you would believe - comes from a leading firm in Birmingham about the recruitment of two intellectual property solicitors from a rival practice.

The names of some of the clients at the rival are listed, and there is written in capital letters: 'We must have permission to mention these clients or at least be 100% sure that they and [the firm] will not be offended by mention.' We had better not say who these clients are just in case the approval never came.

Then a write-up of the recruiting firm's IP team concludes with a message to the department head: 'Can you list your preferred clients here?' We're still waiting.