Squire Patton Boggs pays tribute to 'dear friend' Simone White

A City firm has paid tribute to colleague and ‘dear friend’ Simone White, one of six tourists who has died following suspected methanol poisoning in Laos. 

White was an associate in the international firm’s London office, specialising in commercial, IP and technology. According to her LinkedIn profile, White joined the firm as a trainee solicitor in August 2021 and became an associate in September 2023.

In a statement, Squire Patton Boggs said: ‘It is with deep sadness that we mourn the tragic passing of our dear friend and colleague Simone White. Simone was a talented colleague with a bright future ahead of her and someone who epitomised our Firm values. Our thoughts go out to all of Simone’s family, friends, and those colleagues and clients who had the privilege to work with and know Simone. She will be sincerely missed.’

The tribute was shared on the firm’s website as well as on LinkedIn, which attracted more than 300 comments.

One lawyer said: ‘We were lucky to have Simone work with us at Clear Channel, first as our in-house compliance paralegal and then once she qualified at Squires, on crucial deals with us up until her untimely passing. We were all so devastated to hear this tragic news.

‘Simone was a thoughtful, kind, diligent, adept and genuine young woman, a talented lawyer with a warm heart, humility, humour and bright future.’

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office updated its travel advice for Laos last week with further information on methanol poisoning risks. The advice states that methanol, which is tastless and odourless, has been used in the manufacture of counterfeit replicas of well-known alcohol brands or illegal local spirits, such as vodka.

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