Police were called to a pub near Berwin Leighton Paisner's London office last week when two lawyers from the firm got into a punch up.

Andrew Bamber, a senior partner from BLP's banking department, had gone to the boozer for a few post-work jars with one of his junior associates. But the friendly drink soon degenerated into a brawl. An insider says that punters in the pub had to pull the two apart, and the police were called in to defuse the situation.

How it might have looked

Stupid, drunken behaviour amongst lawyers is nothing new: punch ups seem to be dime a dozen at Brodies, Eversheds' trainees are partial to a spot of streaking and Beachcroft lawyers pour beer over their arses. To say nothing of more recent fisticuffs at Pinsent Masons. But BLP is best known for its mild-mannered real estate lawyers, and the incident has apparently led to outrage amongst partners who have been calling for an inquiry.

A spokeswoman said that the firm was conducting an internal investigation and wouldn't comment further. So the details of the ruckus are shrouded in mystery. Maybe a heated debate over CDOs boiled over? Or perhaps one of them just spilt the other's pint or looked at his bird.