The battle to meet those hours targets never stops
As this year’s Tour de Law competition comes to a close, it would appear that some of the participants have had other more pressing concerns on their minds.
The event — organised by the charity Breast Cancer Care — saw 3,500 legal professionals from 23 different law firms’ offices across the UK take part.
However, thanks to the pressures of law firm life, some City lawyers were unable to fully channel their inner Bradley Wiggins.
Addleshaw Goddard associate Jonathan Brooks seems to have had an impending deadline, but that didn’t stop the young lawyer taking to the saddle and doing his bit for charity.
Opting to wear chinos and a casual shirt, rather than the training gear favoured by most participants, Brooks (pictured below) can be seen pedalling away with laptop in hand, still, it seems, clocking up those billable hours.
Jonny from @AGinsight proving that you don't have to even stop working to take part in #TourdeLaw pic.twitter.com/5rm4FzvlQx
— Tour de Law 2015 (@TourdeLaw) October 1, 2015
Another firm whose lawyers insisted on remaining fully suited and booted for their stints on the bike was corporate powerhouse Weil Gotshal, where a strict dress code was maintained at all times for the cycling event.
As the newly released 2016 Legal Cheek Most List shows, Addleshaw has an annual hours target of 1,500 for associates, while Weil is one of those US firms which has no official hours target.
The Tour de Law has already raised an impressive £47,000, with organisers expecting that figure to double as more donations roll in.
Law firm Simmons & Simmons — which clearly took the fundraiser very seriously — dominated proceedings. The City outfit claimed the title of “fastest firm”, “fastest firm (average speed)” and “furthest firm”, cycling an impressive 1469.9km.
Last year controversy struck the event when Legal Cheek revealed that magic circle outfit Freshfields had entered a fitness trainer into the cycling fundraiser. The Anglo-German giant’s personal trainer, Thora Andersen, bagged the prize for being the competition’s fastest female, covering 10.26km in a blistering 15 minutes.
Happily, there has been no sign of ringers this year.
The overall “Tour de Law champion” and “best fundraising firm” will be announced on 16 October 2015. The full results can be read here.