The female staff of Slaughter and May were presented with a stark choice this week. Opt for clean hands or dry hair.

A recent redecoration of the ladies' changing rooms saw the power sockets removed in favour of new wash basins. To anyone wondering why the changing rooms at Bunhill Row could not accommodate both basins and sockets, the answer is the dreaded elf and safety and, more specifically, the firm's Electricity at Work Procedures. This leaves the women of Slaughters with a choice: return to their offices with dirty hands and neatly coiffured hair, or with clean hands and dripping wet (or dirty) hair:




If only they worked at Allen & Overy, where unbrushed hair has become the norm.

Graham White, the firm's Executive Partner, said "as all our lawyers already come to equity with clean hands, they're welcome to focus on their hair".