Yesterday we brought you news of the updated LinkedIn profile of Shearman & Sterling 'spit roast email' trainee Daniel England. As you can see below, it suggested that England had been offered a job by the firm as a newly qualified (NQ) solicitor.
Tag Archives: Daniel England
Has ‘Spit Roast Email’ Trainee Daniel England Been ‘Offered A Job’ As A Newly Qualified Solicitor By Shearman & Sterling?
In February, Shearman & Sterling trainee Daniel England (pictured left) found himself at the centre of a media storm when his email detailing lurid plans for a lads rugby holiday was leaked to various national newspapers – and quickly became a viral sensation.
The email contained a list of weird tour rules for England and his pals to abide by, which encouraged, amongst other things, the group to publicly boast about their parents' wealth. It also mentioned plans to photograph group sex acts (hence the 'spit roast email' tag).
At the time, Shearman & Sterling expressed itself "very disappointed" with England's behaviour, which it described as "totally at odds with [its] values." The firm added: "We are taking this matter very seriously and are investigating it in accordance with our established procedures."
‘I Would Like To Extend You a Counter-Offer To Suck My Dick’: Law School Dropout’s Job Chances Scotched As Email Goes Viral
We haven’t had a legal profession viral email story since the 'spitroast trainee' Daniel England wowed us all with his holiday plans back in February.
So it's with glee that I bring you this US tale of bad email judgement by an ex-law student who has recently abandoned her lawyer dream.
July: Taylor Grey Meyer (pictured) drops out of law school because she is out of money. She sleeps on a friend’s couch while she applies for jobs – including a minimum wage position at the local baseball team, the San Diego Padres.
Later in July: Meyer doesn’t get the Padres job. The position goes to "someone whose background and credentials we feel best meet our needs at this time".
August 5: The Padres email Meyer to invite her to a job fair, which costs $495 (£316) to attend.
Here’s Meyer’s response (courtesy of Deadspin):
Shearman & Sterling Lawyer Could Be Jailed For Pointing Gun At Photographer
The lawyer who was pictured aiming what looked like a semi-automatic pistol as he drove his convertible Audi through Paris with Pippa Middleton faces up to seven years in jail if the weapon is proved to be real. (Pics available here).
Even if the gun was fake, Romain Rabillard (pictured), an associate at Shearman & Sterling’s Paris office, could be imprisoned for up to two years.
Rabillard, who has acted for German arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch, has taken time off work since the incident on Saturday...
Are City Law Firms Dominated by Posh Lad Culture?
Some firms have a strong penchant for rugby types like 'spit-roast' email trainee Daniel England; others less so, says City lawyer Evan Richards
Now that the dust has settled on the Daniel England affair, and the ‘spit roast’ email trainee’s employer Shearman & Sterling has apparently dealt with the matter, it’s worth taking a step back to see if the incident teaches us any lessons about City law.
In my view the most important question raised by the affair is whether this sort of behaviour is rife, and whether it is deemed acceptable, in City law firms. After all, it was pretty reprehensible stuff. I personally would have every sympathy with students previously contemplating a career in this area who are now reconsidering, in light of this debacle, whether the City law environment is really one of which they would want to be part.
Having worked in City law for some years now, I can confirm that this sort of culture is indeed pretty commonplace. However, there is a vital caveat to this general statement – namely that its existence varies enormously from firm to firm. I worked at a very large City firm where, pleasingly, the culture was not at all posh lad; the firm was genuinely welcoming and diverse. But I always got the feeling that at a number of other City firms it was much more normal. In fact, when I was at law school it seemed that some firms had pretty much exclusively recruited the sort of people with whom Mr. England would probably get on very well.
#RoundMyKitchenTable: The ‘Spit Roast’ Email Trainee
XXXX XXXX, a lawyer who was at university with the 'spit roast' email trainee lawyer Daniel England, gives the inside line on the City boy scandal to drooling journalist Alex Aldridge.
Top employment lawyer Kevin Poulter then weighs in with his expert opinion as to whether or not the hapless Shearman & Sterling youngster will lose his job.
Psychoanalysis Corner: What ‘Spit Roast’ Email Says About Shamed City Boys
Alex Aldridge extracts the cries for help beneath the ‘G4 Tour Rules' drafted by Shearman & Sterling trainee Daniel England and pals in advance of their holiday in Dubai
i) Cheating is allowed;
From what I know of City boys, this goes without saying. So why spell it out explicitly? Perhaps it was simply over-exuberant drafting from the lawyers in the group, Shearman & Sterling's England and Rory Jones, a former intern at Justice, the human rights organisation.
(ii) No anti-lad behavior allowed (i.e. calling girlfriends, being nice to random expats);
*Yawn* The standard tribal mentality you’d expect from those who travel the boarding school-university-City institution route.
(iii) Everyone has each others backs;
As crucial a rule in battle-ravaged Dubai as it is in Afghanistan. But hey, it’s fun to pretend you're in a war movie, then perhaps get all misty-eyed and sentimental about it later over a few drinks.