Business Diary: City lawyers need to smarten up

We are indebted to the website Roll on Friday for publishing a fun little memo leaked from Allen & Overy, the top City law firm, where partners are apparently less than impressed with thesartorial standards of some of their female juniors these days. "Ladies – bit of a random one, but we've been asked to draw your attention to the fact that HR have received numerous complaints about the way female trainees have been dressing around the office," it begins. "The main problem seems to be very short skirts, high heels and generally looking like we're going clubbing instead of to the office (as well as a failure to brush our hair, apparently)." One suspects the author of the memo isn't taking the complaints too seriously.

Bankers want fair deal on bonuses

Bless the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments for the rather high-minded piece of research it has just conducted. Apparently, 78 per cent of financial services professionals think banks should follow the lead of organisations such as John Lewis, which share out their bonus pools so that staff all get the same percentage of their salary. One imagines the 22 per cent who don't feel that way are the bankers making the really big bucks.

Private equity grounds jets

The private equity industry isn't generally known for its dislike of excess, but sometimes the drive to cut costs following acquisitions can have an impact upon even the most senior members of a company. Jesse Edgerton, an analyst at the US Federal Reserve Board, who has been conducting a little research project, says companies that have been acquired by a private equity firm are a third less likely to own a corporate jet three years after the deal than in the previous 12 months.

Directors saw Clegg coming

April's issue of Director magazine includes a fascinating piece on internships – which is made all the more topical given Nick Clegg's intervention on the subject last week. The Deputy Prime Minister spoke out after the magazine for executives went to press, but fortunately it was on message, extolling the virtues of a number of schemes where interns are chosen for their ability – and even get paid.

businessdiary@independent.co.uk