I'd had three tedious sessions with the solicitor, and was now to meet, for the first time, the barrister.
The trial, in the Supreme Court of Hong Kong, was to start in less than fifteen minutes when an out-of-breath barrister burst into the room.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," he said. "Such a busy day, and it took so long to button this dreadful outfit."
He was a small man with large, round eyes set in a cherubic face. His traditional black gown and the long, grey wig elicited an involuntary reaction.
"My God, you're adorable!"
Notwithstanding, we then went to court and won the case.