Bakers and Marque lawyers compete on stage
27 August 2010
A group of Sydney lawyers took to the stage last week as part of an acting competition put on by the Griffin Theatre Company.

Lawyers from Baker & McKenzie and Marque Lawyers acted their cufflinks off in front of a judging panel that included actor Brendan Cowell. In a hotly contested battle, a team from Marque managed to scoop the most prizes. Given Marque's penchant for recruiting staff "keener than a Jack Russell on speed" and "as memorable as Destiny's Child", the firm's acting success may not be so surprising.

Marque Managing Partner Michael Bradley told RollOnFriday, “we were delighted to bring home the Best Play and Best Actress gongs. We’ve since lost 8 of our staff to Home & Away and the next Bond film but it’s a small price to pay.”

Some ex-Marque lawyers having a nice time on Palm Beach yesterday

With former Melbourne solicitor Sam Strong now ensconced as artistic director of The Griffin Theatre Company - which has spawned household names such as Cate Blanchett and Jacqui McKenzie - maybe there's hope yet for tired and jaded lawyers who fancy a career treading the boards. Strong told RollOnFriday “as an ex lawyer myself, it was wonderful to see all that latent talent bursting on to our stage.....It was also great to be able to tap into people’s competitive spirits and give them the chance to take each other on in more than just a corporate triathlon.”

And there's something of a tradition for lawyers to turn to the limelight. Steve Vizard and Shaun Micaellef both started life as commercial lawyers while Deal or No Deal's Andrew O'Keefe entertained Allens staffers for a number of years before bursting onto prime time.