Norton Rose is, understandably, playing down the significance of the departure of its four-partner securities team to Baker & McKenzie ( legalweek.com, 20 May).

It is true that the firm’s core (and well-regarded) asset and project finance teams remain intact. And the defections do not strike at the heart of the firm’s finance brand in the same way as it did when the four-partner acquisition finance group, led by Tim Polglase, quit for Allen & Overy (A&O) in 2002.