Eastern promise

There is nothing Obiter likes more than to sip champagne and linger over the canap selection at the expense of a top City law firm.

So, when an invite from Clyde & Co's Middle East practice came in last week, we could already feel the fizz against our lips as we began to reply.

It was only as we got to the stage of faxing the slip back that we noticed the venue: the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club.

A touch more exotic than your average boardroom, or even the Dali Exhibition, but sadly, much though Obiter is happy to travel the world to keep a finger on the pulse of the profession, we can't squeeze it into our hectic schedule.

If only they'd given us more than nine days' notice.