Loni Morganelli
American Paralegal in London
As most of our readers know, Loni Morganelli writes for The Estrin Report and contributes international posts. Working at a major firm in London, she gives us a global view of the legal world. Yesterday, she experienced angry, masked protestors aiming their wrath at financial and law office employees. Here is what she has to say from London:
London's Falling…..A Call for Mercy
As many of you have seen on the news in the last 24 hours, huge, violent protests are taking place in the City of London. Thousands of protestors took to the streets yesterday and again today ahead of the G20 Summit. This meeting of the minds is a conference where the top 20 wealthiest countries in the world gather to combat large-scale global issues. At today's meeting, the primary focus is on the global economic crisis.
Yesterday, angry, masked protestors hoping to make a statement put up effigies of bankers and lawyers who work in London's financial district and burned them while below, hundreds chanted and cheered. Many firms and businesses in the area sent out security warnings to their staff urging them to "dress down" for the next couple of days in order to "blend in" with the demonstrators. Sadly, all of us who work in this area are targets for the protestors' wrath. My office is located in the heart of London's financial district. On Tuesday, we began receiving security warnings from the London Police and from our own in-house Emergency Broadcast System urging us to heed warnings and be vigilant.
After watching the mayhem disperse across the city yesterday, and fighting my way into the office, I opted to work from home today. I did not want to experience the kind of terror as I did yesterday, ever again. We literally took our lives into our hands to get through the violence.
As you read this, I've just been informed that my building is currently surrounded by protestors – the police just barely able to hold them back. Their motive is to get us – all who work in finance and law. They believe we are responsible, we are the targets. But I plead for mercy to these anarchists – we are all not responsible. Many of us are just support staff – the dedicated, honest paralegals and legal assistants who go to work every day to make and earn a living, certainly not to be greedy and take away from other hard-working individulas.
So my message is this – please be informed about this global crisis. Learn who is truly responsible and do not stoop to the level of protestors who go out and try to attack, both verbally and/or physically, innnocent workers who have done nothing to create this disaster. There are greater powers at hand who are responsible for this devastating mess.
Copyright C.B.Estrin. All rights reserved. Reprints with permission only.
Is this a joke? There was a bit of shoving and a bank branch in central London had a broken window. Burning effigies of lawyers? Er, no.
What utter crap! Loni I think you need to get your eyes tested! There was no swarming of law offices! A branch of RBS got some windows smashed. Hardly World War III!!
To all of you who think this is “utter crap”, yes I was there and yes they did burn effigies of bankers and lawyers near Bank Station and close to the Bank of England. The effigies were hung from a traffic light in the center of Bank, which is home to the Bank of England. If those of you who have commented are based in the US – you may have not seen this on the news. My coverage came from Sky News which is London-based and from my own personal eyes. Yesterday, 250 angry protestors had to be held back by the police outside my building. We are home to several thousand bankers and lawyers, and both the London Stock Exchange and European Bank are next door. One man was also killed during the protests because he had been pinned down during a march and pulled out by the police. And yes, Jane, that’s right, there was a break-in at an RBS branch and fortunately no one was hurt, so no I don’t need to get my eyes tested. My post did not depict anything resembling WW III. Perhaps you need to take a deep breath and relax. If you want to talk about a potential WWIII, perhaps you should pay careful attention to N Korea or Pakistan. I must say with respect that the three of you are mis-informed, but I can’t cast blame on you because after all you’re watching biased US-based television. While many of the protests and marches were calm, such as the Climate Change Camp which was set up about a 5 minute walk from my building, the protests outside my building and near the Bank of England did have violence and tension embedded in them. Riot police were called in to handle the demonstrators. Even US-based, Fox News Channel, reported on the arrests and violence that occurred. So with respect, each of you need to open up your eyes, dig around a bit for your information, and pay attention to what actually happens across the pond and the rest of the world.
“We literally took our lives into our hands to get through the violence.”
Get a grip you stupid woman. I’m surprised you didn’t go so far as to suggest that the protestors were 5 minutes away from detonating a nuclear warhead in your office.
Stop being so retarded you silly old hag.
Loni
I read your rebuttal after my initial post. I too have first hand experience, as I was in Bank and Liverpool Street observing the protests and am a lawyer. There were some flashpoints which culminated in damage to RBS but all in all it is a far cry from your description (and the media hype).
You are also grossly misrepresenting the facts of the man who died during the protests. There is no evidence to suggest that he was “killed” or was “pinned” down by protestors. He collapsed (heart attack?) and was moved out of the way of protestors where paramedics tried to revive him. A trajic event but not as described by you at all.
I saw more violence from the police than from the protestors as they penned in large groups of people and refused them freedom of movement which is what caused much of the aggravation. Once they stopped doing this, whatever tension there was evaporated immediately.
Best regards
Lonie, this is crap. I think you should get your head checked. I too am a lawyer and was in bank and liverpool street. There were no effigies of lawyers burnt, the man who died wasnt even a protester, he had a heart attack on the way back home, there was hardly any violence.
You will always be a paralegal if you misrepresent things- grow up.
I work at Herbert Smith much like you and must say that this article is complete bollocks.
Everything mentioned in my post was based on fact. I have nothing to gain by exaggerating or making anything up. However, should anyone disagree, there is a normal and civilized way to communicate or get a point across. When you resort to unprofessional behavior and childish name-calling, you can’t expect anyone to take anything you say seriously. City Lawyer, you may know a thing or two about law, but you don’t know the first thing about communicating as your ignorance shows in your post.
ok