It's principals that matter

At a reception last week, partners at City-based law firm Withers exhibited all the signs of patience wearing thin.

The big bash was a glorious celebration of the firm's recent private client merger with US practice Bergman Horowitz & Reynolds.

The merged firm has limited liability partnership (LLP) status and as a result has adopted the US idiom of renaming its partners as 'principals' (although Obiter was always under the impression that LLP partners were called 'members').

As the evening drew on - and as more champers was quaffed - the English partners, er, principals, became increasingly unamused at the ribbing they were taking over the title change, with some guests at the party suggesting that 'principal' had too much of a US high-school ring (The Simpsons' Principal Skinner, anyone?).

It strikes Obiter that the firm could be really daring by adopting a slightly different spelling.

Oh what fun cheeky journalists could have with stories beginning: 'Withers lost several of its principles this week.'