It’s a long time ago, and those involved are long retired – So, I’m remembering dealing with this firm (Freeths) a generation plus (20+ years) ago.
The Freeths Partner involved had travelled down to London – to sell an ex-Rolls Royce naval power generation business to the VC client I represented.
Everything had been going well during the day, and I thought that the Freeths Partner had used his client’s negotiating time well (allowing Freeths to ‘pad out their timesheet’ while seeking to better their client’s interests – while still getting on the evening train back to the East Midlands, and to sleep in their own beds that evening).
Suddenly, around Six P.M. (~1800 Hrs.), the Freeths Partner started behaving like a total *rse – Taking ridiculous positions on basic points in the documentation – contrary to what we had agreed in principle earlier.
This carried on for several hours, until my favourite Real Property Partner (who was ‘on the property aspects job, and) who lived ‘around the corner’ (in the Barbican), ‘wandered in’ after her evening’s dinner and asked me “Have these muppets found the secretary with the password for the computer, yet?”
It turned out this berk, was p*ss*ng about – because he couldn’t practically amend ‘his’ document (his secretary had gone home > and wasn’t answering her phone).
I went into the meeting room and asked him (in front of his client) whether this was the case, since if it was – we could exchange / complete easily with a combination of ‘us’ taking the draft agreement onto London based W.P. systems (and manuscript amendments).
After over four (>4) hours of wasted time, ‘we’ were relatively rapidly ‘done’ > and > I slept in my bed that night (as I envisage did Freeth’s client – whom we arranged a taxi so as to take them back to Derby).
I can still remember them telling the Freeths partner: “Don’t even think of asking to come in our taxi, you f*ck*ng bellend”.
I asked my client whether he would pay for a separate taxi for the Freeths partner, and they replied: “Two (2) Words, The Second Of Which Is ‘OFF'”!
Ah, memories . . .
