One of the downsides of making loads of money as a top City lawyer is that you can’t be too choosy about the sort of clients your firm advises.
It’s a reality that applies even to the spouse of Britain’s saint-in-chief, Shami Chakrabarti.
Chakrabarti’s husband, Martyn Hopper, began his career on the side of the angels as a worthy regulator at the Financial Services Authority (FSA). But eight years ago he was lured by the megabucks of Herbert Smith, where he became an equity partner, assisting the likes of Shell with investigations made against them by the FSA…
Currently, Hopper is in the process of moving to Linklaters, where average profit per equity partner is £1.225 million.
The magic circle outfit’s roster of clients include such un-Chakrabarti-like institutions as:
The Ukraine government
Strange to think that income generated from serving clients like these flows into the Chakrabarti home.