Historically, Baker & McKenzie has been dogged by the ‘F’ word. F, by the way, is for franchise. But for certain senior Bakers personnel, the ‘F’-word has been ousted as the firm’s bogey word, by another term, beginning with ‘H’.

It stands for headquarters, and is a reference to the firm’s long-held contention that it does not have one. By all accounts, the firm’s London head, Russell Lewin, has to be peeled off the ceiling every time the dreaded word is uttered.