One up

It is not everyday that the bureaucracy has the upper hand over corporate lawyers. But at least one bureaucrat briefly enjoyed that feeling at a recent industry-government meeting on the Companies Act in the capital. A storied corporate lawyer was speaking eloquently about the hidden land mines in the new law. A senior bureaucrat sitting next to him on the dais suddenly cut him short, saying curtly, "We have already revised the rules. You seem to be referring to earlier draft rules." The lawyer conceded the case to the bureaucrat, admitting that he may have down-loaded the old draft in a hurry.