Water warriors

It was no baptism of fire for trainee solicitor Ashley King. It was more a dunking in freezing, peat-stained water. The trainee at 11-partner Black Country commercial law firm George Green was part of a four-man team competing in the Lakes Challenge – a gruelling seven hours of mountain biking, trekking and canoeing across 10 square miles of the Lake District. He took an unplanned dip when James Coles, an associate in the firm’s dispute resolution and litigation department, capsized their canoe while getting out. Coles said: ‘We raised £1,600 for a bowel cancer charity. So the aching legs and backs, not to mention Ashley’s early bath, were all in a good cause.’ Coles urged other firms to enter the yearly challenge.