Dominic’s Diary- the weekly blog

In spite of the now ubiquitous ‘credit crunch’, which seems to have brought about the recent downturn in the financial markets, the last few months have proved an extremely exciting time for Teacher Stern LLP.

At the beginning of March the firm underwent a comprehensive rebranding. First, the name was shortened from Teacher Stern Selby – always a tongue twister to pronounce – to the punchier Teacher Stern; second, the firm became a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP); and finally our colours were changed from dark and light blue to lime green and chocolate brown. Being a lifelong Celtic supporter, I was particularly enamoured with this move from blue to green.

The highlight of the firm’s rebranding process was our launch party in the Royal Academy at the end of April – a building I had not been inside since their retrospective a few years back on the late great abstract expressionist Philip Guston. Thankfully, the evening turned out to be a great success for the firm – even if it did coincide with the second-leg of the Champions League semi-final between Chelsea and Liverpool.

Last Thursday, I returned home to west Cork for my brother’s wedding, which was a most enjoyable if somewhat exhausting experience. Due to my heavy workload in the Litigation Department – currently juggling six individual client matters – I did not manage to leave the office until after 8pm. I then had a rush to make the 10.15pm flight from Heathrow, only to be informed at the departure gate that my flight was cancelled. Fortunately, Aer Lingus put me up in a local hotel and I was able to leave on the next available flight.

With regards to the wedding itself, well, as my brother’s ‘best man’ there were a raft of filial and organisational duties, which I was bound to perform. In retrospect, my unswerving reliance upon Franz Kafka’s Wedding Preparations in the Country (1908) was probably not such a good idea. Thankfully, the multi-tasking skills gained at law school and put into practice at Teacher Stern were enough to see me through the entire weekend.

Having returned on Tuesday morning to the sturm und drang of the Litigation Department, I am particularly envious of my brother and sister-in-law for flying off on a three week honeymoon to Cuba and Brazil. On that note, I think I might…avail of some holiday leave!