Lawyer of the Day

Solicitor of the Day: Michael Wachtel

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The folks from across the Pond bring us Lawyer of the Day Michael “Did I really just say that?” Wachtel. Wachtel is a former Freshfieldser who is now a partner at Watson Farley & Williams.

The Lawyer conducted an interview with Wachtel last week. It was your standard interview with the regular questions: When do you usually leave the office? (9 p.m.) What’s on your Ipod? (The Byrds Play Dylan) What two items would you take to the beach? (Suntan lotion and beer). But in the middle of the interview, Wachtel dropped a bomb, if you will:

Who’s your hero and why?

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, not because of his politics or his ideology, but because he refused to be intimidated by a much stronger foe, and he won.

The leader of Hezbollah is the first guy to leap into his mind? Wachtel has lived in and done a lot of work in the Middle East according to his bio, but still…

We appreciate the sentiment of a small guy defeating a big foe, but would advise choosing a more politically-correct hero like David, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Erin Brockovich, or Luke Skywalker. Whipping out an advocate of suicide bombings and the destruction of Israel as your hero is a bit, um… unwise.

Roll On Friday has a statement from Watson Farley & Williams. The firm makes it clear that Wachtel “does not approve of any terrorist activities or unlawful or immoral acts of violence,” after the jump.


The firm wants to make it clear that Hassan Nasrallah is not its hero:

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“The views expressed in this feature are matters of personal opinion which do not represent the opinion of the firm. WFW has a culture of inclusiveness and diversity, is respectful of human rights and does not condone any form of unlawful violence.

Mr Wachtel has advised us that he does not approve of any terrorist activities or unlawful or immoral acts of violence. Whilst Mr Wachtel believed that he had made it clear that he does not agree with Mr Nasrallah’s ideology or political views, with hindsight he understands that this may not have been sufficiently clear and that his comments may be considered offensive. He has apologised for any such offence, which was entirely unintentional.”

Given this episode, we imagine Wachtel might change his answer to this question:

What’s your biggest work/ career mistake and what did you learn from it?

When I worked in a corporation I made the mistake of believing that doing a good job is more important than workplace politics. I learnt that, to be successful, I needed an environment that rewards results rather than politics.

Wachtel should probably just stay away from politics altogether.

Michael Wachtel, Watson Farley & Williams [The Lawyer via Roll On Friday]

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