| COVER STORY: Dirty Business A coup attempt fails. The notorious regime seeks retribution. A City lawyer advises its president. Penningtons partner Henry Page is bringing this controversial battle to Britain
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In this month's issue 2005 LEGAL BUSINESS AWARDS
The 2005 Legal Business Awards are to be held 10th February 2005 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London. For Law Firms wishing to make submissions full details can be found under the Awards section to the left of this page. All sponsorship enquiries should be directed to Claire Bostock direct on 020 7396 5628 or via email
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 Equatorial Guinea's ongoing saga of mercenaries, coup plots, murderous dictators, claim and counter claim has arrived in Britain. This month Legal Business follows the actions of Henry Page, a partner at small City firm Penningtons, as he goes about his job - advising the dictatorial president of Equatorial Guinea, who is bringing claims in the English and Guernsey courts against a moneyed and frightened collection of individuals alleged to be coup plotters. With the International Bar Association and Amnesty International making clear their concern over Equatorial Guinea's treatment of some of the accused, a stream of accusations and recriminations is spiralling. The English lawyer for one of the defendants thinks that Page and Penningtons - a respected, traditional English law firm - should step down from acting for someone so closely associated with torture. We present the sometimes gruesome facts of this murky, convoluted international legal quagmire. When lawyers find themselves in controversial situations, a heavy burden of responsibility falls on them to maintain the highest professional standards. In television footage viewed by Legal Business, the South African judge on the Mark Thatcher hearings assesses the actions of Henry Page in Equatorial Guinea in highly disparaging terms, even remarking to counsel that the Law Society should be informed. Penningtons points out that this judge makes no criticism of Page's conduct in the judgment he handed down… Read on.
Tom Freeman, Editor | LEGAL BUSINESS APPOINTMENTS | THE LEADER Pritchard
An icy chill blows among dislocated foreign partners | THE BUSINESS
Claire Smith introduces the month's news, plus comment and analysis | THE FORUM
The pros and cons of a US merger, by the leaders of what was once Rowe & Maw, and what intends to remain Norton Rose |  LEADERSHIP CONTENTS Election mania
Law firms used to choose their leaders in private; now electioneering is the norm. Vanessa Pawsey looks at the latest round of voting | COVER STORY Losing the plot
At the heart of the furore surrounding the coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea is a partner at Penningtons, advising the president of the oil-rich African state. Anthony Notaras investigates his controversial role |  THE CLEMENTI REPORT The business of law
David Clementi's report has cleared the way for a revolution in the legal market. Partnerships could change completely. By Richard Lloyd |  MANCHESTER UNITED Theatre of hate
Malcolm Glazer's stalking of the world's biggest football club has
angered shareholders and resulted in his lawyers employing bodyguards. James Baxter goes behind the headlines | OFFSHORE LITIGATION Woolf's world tour
The Woolf reforms have forced offshore financial centres to modernise their approaches to disputes. Alan Lamb explores some of the biggest cases around, and the trends that emerge in dealing with them | THE SOURCE
The law firms tipped to benefit from the government's overhaul of the gambling industry, by James Baxter | THE BACK PAGE
Government, terror, and the Law Lords' wrath |
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