City firm Linklaters is still coming to terms with the murder of promising associate Tom ap Rhys Pryce last week, a partner who worked closely with him has told the Gazette.

Litigation partner Alan Walls said the firm has provided a 24-hour bereavement counselling telephone line for staff, but that lawyers were mostly 'counselling each other'.


He said: 'As you would expect, people are still coming to terms with what happened. It is hard to describe. People are getting on with their job as best they can, but it is hard to concentrate on the mundane when something like this has happened.


'We are providing support counselling for staff, but most of us have counselled each other. When we found out, we went to the pub and told "Tom stories". That is the best you can do. It has been a real blow.'


Mr Walls said Mr ap Rhys Pryce had had a 'fantastic future' at the firm. He said: 'Tom was a really popular guy. He was modest, self-effacing and gentle. He was very enthusiastic, with a good sense of fun. But he was [also] one of the best lawyers in his cohort.'


He added: 'He was involved in some of our most complicated, high-value cases, and thrived on it. He had been out on secondment to clients, and the [feedback] I received from them before this happened was exceptional. He is a huge miss.'


Mr ap Rhys Pryce was stabbed in north London last week. Police described the attack as 'vicious, ferocious and gratuitous'.