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UK: Megafirm antitrust partner banned from legal practice

By  |  March 31, 2016

A former partner at Squire Patton Boggs legacy firm Hammond Suddards has been banned from working in UK legal services after it emerged he had been billing clients for luxury family holidays.

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    Konstantinos Adamantopoulos — who is a Greek-qualified lawyer — was, at the time, the managing partner of the international outfit’s Brussels office. In a judgment that is as incredible as it is long, it is revealed that the top antitrust lawyer was charging the firm’s clients for luxurious family getaways to Switzerland, Greece and the Caribbean.

    On one occasion, Adamantopoulos billed several clients totalling €7,000 (£5,500) for a family vacation to his home country of Greece. In another punt at a free jolly, the lawyer attempted to bill a client for a family trip to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The senior lawyer — who was admitted to the Athens Bar in 1984 — also tried to charge a client an astonishing €16,000 (£12,600) for a family skiing trip to Swiss resort Zermatt.

    Banning Adamantopoulos from working within any UK legal practice, the SDT was unable to strike him from the roll, due to his status as a non-registered European lawyer. The report also notes that all client monies taken by Adamantopoulos were reimbursed by the firm.

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