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Freshfields corporate guru Barry O'Brien is back with a bang following his run-in with the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal - much to the delight of his colleagues
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Barry O'Brien may have been through a tough couple of years, what with the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) protracting a conflict of interest case against him. But the former corporate head, who has been sworn back into the firm's partnership after two years in a consultancy role (The Lawyer, 28 April), is now fully focused on the future.
Described by one of his colleagues as a "superhero", O'Brien was last August fined pound 9,000 by the SDT after admitting a conflict of interest for representing businessman Philip Green on his multibillion-pound 2004 attempted takeover of Marks & Spencer, an existing Freshfields client.
O'Brien remained as a consultant until the SDT case ran its course, but with that now well and truly in the past he has been thrust back into the senior ranks, joining corporate partners Will Lawes, Ed Braham and Julian Long in chairing one of four groups within the firm's corporate department, which is run by Mark Rawlinson.
"He's a real character, a larger-than-life...