A Herbert Smith Freehills manager surprised staff at a recent meeting by playing them a video of a Mardi Gras-themed funeral.

Over 200 of the firm's Belfast lawyers and support staff were gathered at the Hilton Hotel for an update meeting when a senior manager, presenting a section on diversity, dimmed the lights and announced that it was time to "remember Peter Quigley, a friend of the firm". A source reports watching the screen with mounting confusion as a bejewelled white coffin was carried along a street accompanied by a samba band, dancers and cheering onlookers. One onlooker fired a glitter canon.

    Still. Not quite New Orleans.

Although the staffer told RollOnFriday she was "absolutely baffled", the firm did have links with the deceased. Quigley was a local actor and his final play, Tuesday at Tescos, was sponsored by Herbert Smith Freehills and, possibly more to the point, directed by the manager who played the video.

Quigley's turn as a trans-woman challenging perceptions had won rave reviews, and Herbies even planned on bringing the production to England. Sadly London staff will have to settle for the video Quigley's final performance instead, described by the Belfast Telegraph as "fun-filled", which it was compared to most funerals.


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