Not so long ago, titles in the United Kingdom could be bought with suitable donations to political parties.

In the politically correct culture of today, they usually have to be earned, but sometimes they occur unexpectedly.

Soteris Pittas was a non-equity partner in the firm of Andreas Neocleous & Co. He was dismissed in early 2002 and then joined the firm of Patrikios Pavlou & Co.

He has now undergone a metamorphosis in the latest edition of a legal directory which reports, possibly as a result of an innocent mispronunciation, that:

“Patrikios Pavlou & Co moves up in the table this year following the appointment of litigation expert Sir David Peters, former managing partner at Andreas Neocleous & Co……”.

Obviously the name “So-teri(s) Pittas” was mispronounced or misunderstood to be Sir David Peters (sic)!

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them” (Shakespeare, Twelfth Night)

and some benefit from mispronunciation!