Jim in the swim

Law firm completes house purchase for client - that is the shock news from Manchester firm James Chapman & Co, which probably won't sneak into deals of the week with this one.

That the client in question was swimmer James Hickman, who was training for the world short-course championships at the time, does not make us care any more, to be honest.

'He was very keen to conclude the purchase and wanted to keep the associated hassle to a minimum,' said his solicitor, Steven Richards; maybe this point needed making because the rest of his conveyancing clients enjoy the stress and prefer to draw out the process for as long as they can.

Mr Hickman finished the championships with a gold medal and 'made a point of visiting Steven Richards to thank him', the press release burbled.

'He said that our help put him in the right frame of mind,' Mr Richards said, at which point Obiter started feeling ill, although he had the sense to concede that this was 'no doubt an exaggeration'.