Last week, we revealed that DLA Piper, quite possibly the World's Biggest Law Firm, was proposing to convert all its partners to full equity. So that's all the ones who are merely "partner" in title - the salaried set - joining the big boys (and possibly a couple of girls) club, where they'll get a proper profit share. It's being sold as a great way for incredibly ambitious and thrusting young things to make an enormous amount of money. Whether they'll be making that in recompense for their sanity, family lives and spousal relationships is another matter. But suffice it to say that DLA's crustier old lags, the lifers, will be looking over their shoulders nervously (although probably not Sir Nigel "Blatter" Knowles, up for election unopposed again).

Obviously making everyone an equity partner is good for the meritocracy and so on, and will be sold as a great advantage of the firm, already expanding its enormous ranks. But one real advantage for the firm is that it'll get its hands on a nice chunk of cash from every new equity partner. Now £20,000, say, doesn't sound like a lot to the average City law firm partner (and, to be fair, isn't that much to a firm of DLA's size). It's the sort of shrapnel they find down the back of the sofa, right?

But consider this: the equity spread at DLA runs from a relatively measly £225,000 to a tasty £2,500,000 (that's presumably Knowles - membership at Wentworth isn't cheap). And that's for pre-existing equity partners, so it's fair to assume that the plenty of the cohort of salaried partners - which is 800 out of the total partnership of 1,200 - are on a good chunk less. And that's before you've taken into account a massive mortgage in a verdant suburb and prep school fees. It's quite possible that some of the 800 might not be able to instantly write the necessary cheque.

So where to source the cash? Fortunately, there are plenty of people around happy to stump up ready reddies. Even in these austere times, a proper partner-to-be has got to be a good bet, right? In fact one business is so keen to lend to the new members of the DLA equity club that it's even borrowed the firm's branding. See if you can spot the difference:




DLA Piper, branches everywhere (inc. Sheffield)








Toothfairy Finance, Sheffield