If 2019 has taught the City anything, it is that alcohol can make things pretty messy, pretty fast.

The hearing of Ryan Beckwith, a former partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal shed light on the “culture of heavy drinking” at the magic-circle law firm, as Riel Karmy-Jones QC, who represented the Solicitors Regulation Authority, said.