Lone voice soothes solos

Sole practitioners were given invaluable guidance on networking and social skills at their annual conference in Manchester at the weekend.

Local accountant Will Kintish gave them hints on how to make friends and influence people at parties.

Here are a few snippets: 'Don't forget it's networking not net-eating and drinking...

When entering a room you should be thinking "look at all those friends I'm going to make today", and "God I can smell business".' But Mr Kintish arrived a day late.

A sublime practical demonstration of how to work the room had already been performed by Law Society Deputy Vice-President Ed Nally at the opening party on Friday evening.

Soothing frayed high street sole practitioners' nerves was clearly high up the agenda for Mr Nally.

For cutting through Mr Kintish's theories on how to 'break into a diamond-shaped group of people' or attach himself to a 'closed triangle', Mr Nally - inspired no doubt by Justin Timberlake, who was also playing to packed audiences of hysterical fans in Manchester last weekend - just took out his guitar and sang sweet music.

One misty eyed lady practitioner assured Obiter the next day: 'He has a lovely voice.'