For a firm that is famous for its collegiality, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s recent overhaul of its feted corporate finance team looks suspiciously like a pampering exercise for its star performers.

Sure, cracks appeared in the firm’s transactional standing in recent months as it lost out on panel appointments for British Telecom (BT) and Barclays. Its position as primary corporate adviser to Royal Bank of Scotland is also understood to be under threat.