Magic Circle (law firms)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Magic Circle (disambiguation).
The Magic Circle is an informal term for what are generally considered the five leading law
firms headquartered in the United Kingdom,[1][2][3] and the four or five leading London-based
commercial barristers' chambers.

Contents
[hide]

1 Law firms

2 Barristers' chambers

3 Rankings

4 See also

5 References

Law firms[edit]
The five law firms generally regarded as constituting the Magic Circle are: [2][4]

Allen & Overy

Clifford Chance

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Linklaters

Slaughter and May

These firms are generally regarded as being the most prestigious law firms headquartered in the UK,
[citation needed]
and consistently have among the highest earnings per-partner and earnings per-lawyer of
UK-headquartered law firms.[citation needed]
In 2013 four members of the Magic Circle were among the ten largest law firms in the world
measured by revenues, with Clifford Chance, Linklaters, Allen & Overy and Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer respectively the fifth-largest, seventh-largest, eighth-largest and ninth-largest by this
measurement.[5] In 2010 Slaughter and May was the 48th-largest law firm in the world by this
measure, with revenues of $628,500,000.[5]

10 largest law firms in the world measured by 2013 revenues

Rank Firm Revenues Location of

 headquarters

1 Baker & McKenzie $2,540,000,000 United States

United
2 DLA Piper $2,480,000,000 Kingdom/Unite
d States

3 Latham & Watkins $2,290,000,000 United States

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher &

4 $2,230,000,000 United States
Flom

United
5 Clifford Chance $2,130,000,000
Kingdom

6 Kirkland & Ellis $2,020,000,000 United States

United
7 Linklaters $1,960,000,000
Kingdom

United
8 Allen & Overy $1,930,000,000
Kingdom

United
9 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer $1,920,000,000
Kingdom

United
10 Norton Rose Fulbright $1,900,000,000
Kingdom

Those UK-headquartered firms commonly regarded as the main competitors of the Magic Circle are
sometimes referred to as the "Silver Circle"; these firms are generally smaller than the members of
the Magic Circle in revenues, but also have a level of earnings per-partner and earnings per-lawyer
which are far above the average for UK-based law firms. [6][7]

10 largest UK-based law firms measured by 2013

 worldwide revenues[8]

Rank Firm Revenues

1 DLA Piper 1,566,300,000

2 Clifford Chance 1,359,000,000

3 Linklaters 1,255,100,000

4 Allen & Overy 1,234,300,000

5 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 1,232,000,000

6 Norton Rose Fulbright 1,152,000,000

7 Hogan Lovells 1,098,000,000

8 Herbert Smith Freehills 800,000,000

9 Dentons 807,300,000

10 CMS 710,400,000

Barristers' chambers[edit]
The following barristers' chambers are often described as constituting the Bar's Magic Circle: [9]

Blackstone Chambers[10]

Brick Court Chambers

Essex Court Chambers

 Fountain Court Chambers

One Essex Court

Rankings[edit]
List of 100 largest law firms globally (2010)

List of largest European law firms 2011

List of largest European law firms 2009

List of largest European law firms 2005

List of largest United Kingdom-based law firms

List of largest Chinese law firms (2009)

See also[edit]
Big Five law firms (South Africa)

Seven Sisters (law firms)

Big Six law firms

Silver Circle (law firms)

White shoe firm

Red Circle (law) -China

Big Four (audit firms)

References[edit]
1. Jump up^ 'Different types of law firm'

2. ^ Jump up to:a b "Clifford Chance Is Top U.K. Law Firm as Revenue

Falls". Bloomberg Businessweek. 8 July 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2011.

3. Jump up^ "It's a kind of magic". The Law Gazette. 21 May 2004.
Retrieved 9 May 2011.

4. Jump up^ LawBritannia Legal Glossary: Online UK Law Careers

Counselling
 5. ^ Jump up to:a b "Global Law Firms Chart Slow But Steady Growth".
The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 9 February 2015.

6. Jump up^ "Silver Circle". The Lawyer. 3 September 2007.

Retrieved 25 October 2010.

7. Jump up^ "'Silver circle' firms upset the legal order". The Times. 28
August 2005. Retrieved 25 October 2010.

8. Jump up^ "LB100 2014: The Main Table". Legal Business. 2

September 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2015.

9. Jump up^ Set for a fight - 26 June 2000

10. Jump up^ Dowell, Katy (2011). "The Bar". The Lawyer (London:
Centaur Media). Retrieved 29 October 2011.

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Magic Circle

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Legal services in the United Kingdom

Categories:
Law firms based in London
Neologisms

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