|
Magic Circle (law)
"Magic Circle" is an informal term describing the five most prestigious London-headquartered multinational law firms, which generally outperform the rest of the London law firms on profitability. The term has also been used to describe the most prestigious barristers' chambers in London. All of the 'Magic Circle' law firms and barristers' chambers specialise primarily in corporate law. History and evolution The term was coined by legal reporters in the 1990s and is generally considered to include the following five law firms: A&O Shearman, Clifford Chance, Freshfields, Linklaters, and Slaughter and May. The Magic Circle has been termed a "journalistic device, coined by legal reporters in the wake of the break-up of its predecessor, the 'Club of Nine'". The Club of Nine was an informal group of law firms that comprised Allen & Overy (now A&O Shearman), Clifford Chance, Freshfields, Herbert Smith (now Herbert Smith Freehills), Linklaters, Lovells (now Hogan Lovells), Norton Rose ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre, the City of London, was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of Government of the United Kingdom, the national government and Parliament of the United Kingdom, parliament. London grew rapidly 19th-century London, in the 19th century, becoming the world's List of largest cities throughout history, largest city at the time. Since the 19th cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norton Rose
Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) is a British-American business law firm. It is the thirteenth-largest by headcount and 21st by revenue, with revenues of more than $2 billion. The British law firm Norton Rose originated in 1794 when it was established by Robert Charsley. In 2013, The Norton Rose Fulbright came into existence through the combination of the British law firm Norton Rose and the American law Fulbright & Jaworski. Norton Rose Fulbright's Houston office is located at 1550 Lamar Street, Suite 2000, Houston, Texas 77010. History Norton Rose was founded in 1794 by Robert Charsley, the only employee at the time. In 1821, Charsley partnered with William Barker, creating Charsley & Barker. Later that century, Phillip Rose (later Sir Philip Rose) joined the firm, creating Barker & Rose and later Barker, Rose & Norton when Henry Elland Norton joined. By 1900, the firm was called Norton, Rose, Norton & Co. In 1960, the firm, renamed Norton, Rose & Co., amalgamated with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sidley Austin
Sidley Austin LLP is an American multinational corporation, multinational law firm with approximately 2,300 lawyers in 21 offices worldwide. It was established in 1866 and its headquarters is at One South Dearborn in Chicago's Chicago Loop, Loop. It is one of the largest law firms in the world in terms of revenue. History Origins in Chicago In 1866, Norman Williams and John L. Thompson founded the law firm of Williams & Thompson in Chicago, Illinois. William Pratt Sidley, who had joined the firm in 1892, was added to the firm's name in 1900 when it was renamed Holt, Wheeler & Sidley. Edwin C. Austin joined the firm in 1914. Among the firm's first clients were the Pullman Company, the manufacturer of specialty sleeping railway cars, as well as Western Electric and Illinois Steel. Expansion and consolidation In 1963, former postmaster general J. Edward Day left the administration of John F. Kennedy, President John F. Kennedy to establish the firm's Washington, D.C. office ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates (known as Skadden) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm comprises approximately 1,700 lawyers and is the fourth highest grossing law firm in the United States. History The firm was founded in 1948 in New York by Marshall Skadden, John Slate, and Les Arps. The same year, Joseph Flom was hired as the firm's first associate. In 1959, William R. Meagher joined the firm and its first female attorney, Elizabeth Head, was hired. In 1960, the firm's name became Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. In 1973, the firm opened its second office in Boston. In 1981, Peggy L. Kerr became the first woman to become a partner at Skadden. In 1987, the firm opened its first international office in Tokyo. In 2008, together with the City College of New York, Skadden launched the Skadden, Arps Honors Program with the goal of increasing diversity in law schools and the legal p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is a white-shoe law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm specializes in litigation and corporate practices, particularly mergers and acquisitions and private equity, with approximately 1,500 attorneys in 13 offices worldwide. History John Woodruff Simpson, Thomas Thacher and William Milo Barnum organized the firm as "Simpson, Thacher & Barnum" on January 1, 1884, with offices at 9 Pine Street. The three were formerly law clerks at the old-line firm Alexander & Green. In 1889, the name was changed to Reed Simpson Thacher & Barnum when former U.S. House Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed joined the firm. Reed died in 1902, and the name was soon changed to Simpson Thacher Barnum & Bartlett with Philip Bartlett being the new name partner. The final change came with Barnum's retirement in 1904 when it was amended to its current name of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. From its original location at 9 Pine Street, the firm has operated at many offices t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latham & Watkins
Latham & Watkins LLP is an American multinational law firm. Founded in 1934 in Los Angeles, California, Latham is the second-largest law firm in the world by revenue. As of 2022, Latham is also one of the most profitable law firms in the world, with profits per partner exceeding US$7.1 million. History The firm was founded in January 1934 in Los Angeles, California, by Dana Latham and Paul Watkins. Latham's practice focused on state and federal tax law, and he eventually served as Commissioner of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service under President Dwight Eisenhower. Watkins's practice focused primarily on labor. At first, the firm grew slowly, with only 19 attorneys employed as of 1960.Latham.com (), retrieved May 19, 2010. As of 2020, the company is known for lobbying and litigating against actions to mitigate [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White & Case
White & Case LLP is a global white-shoe law firm based in New York City. Founded in 1901, the firm has 46 offices in 31 countries worldwide. History The firm was founded on May 1, 1901, when two Wall Street lawyers, Justin DuPratt White, 31, and George B. Case, 28, each contributed $250 () to establish White & Case. White attended Cornell Law School on a state scholarship, where he was an editor of ''The Cornell Daily Sun''. Case attended Yale University, where he played college baseball for the Yale Bulldogs baseball, Yale Bulldogs, and then Columbia Law School. The pair had a close relationship with Henry Pomeroy Davison, Henry P. Davison, a noted banker who helped create the Federal Reserve. The firm's first clients included Bankers Trust, Bankers Trust Company. James Hurlock led the firm as chairman from 1980 to 2000. Under Hurlock, the firm tripled its roster of lawyers and expanded into multiple global markets. In 1994, White & Case was among the first American law fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1909, Kirkland & Ellis has been the largest law firm in the world by revenue since 2017 and, as of 2025, is the seventh-largest by number of attorneys. It was the first law firm in the world to reach US$7 billion in annual revenue. With a revenue of US$8.8 billion and a profit per equity partner of US$9.25 million, Kirkland & Ellis is the highest-grossing and most profitable law firm in the world. Many attorneys from the firm have served as federal officials or judges, including United States Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and former Attorneys General William Barr and Robert Bork. History In 1909, two attorneys, Stuart G. Shepard and Robert R. McCormick, formed the Chicago-based partnership that would eventually become Kirkland & Ellis. McCormick was the grandson of Joseph Medill, who had founded the ''Chicago Tribune''. McCormick became president of the Tribune ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Davis Polk & Wardwell
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, commonly known as Davis Polk, is an American multinational corporation, multinational law firm headquartered in New York City with offices in Washington, D.C., Menlo Park, California, Menlo Park, London, Madrid, Brussels, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo, and São Paulo. The firm maintains an all-equity partnership, with profits per partner of over $7 million. History Davis Polk traces its origin to a one-man practice in Manhattan opened by a 21-year-old lawyer, Francis N. Bangs. The firm changed its name several times to account for new partners, using names such as Bangs & Stetson; Bangs, Stetson, Tracey & MacVeagh,, Stetson, Jennings & Russell, and Davis, Polk, Wardwell, Gardiner & Reed. Towards the end of the 19th century, J. P. Morgan hired Francis Lynde Stetson, Francis Stetson, then name partner of the firm, as his chief counsel. During Stetson's tenure, the firm helped Morgan to restructure the Pennsylvania Railroad as well as create General Electric. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (known as Cleary Gottlieb), formerly Cleary, Gottlieb, Friendly & Cox and Cleary, Gottlieb, Friendly, Steen & Hamilton, is an American multinational law firm headquartered at One Liberty Plaza in New York City. Known as a white shoe law firm, Cleary employs over 1,200 lawyers worldwide. History The firm was founded in 1946 when six partners from Root, Clark, Buckner & Howland left to found a firm they initially called "Cleary, Gottlieb, Friendly, & Cox." One of those partners, Henry Friendly, whose name was removed from the firm's name after he was appointed as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1959. In August 2007, Manhattan federal judge Loretta Preska imposed monetary sanctions on Cleary Gottlieb for improperly trying to dissuade a witness, French-Congolese businessman Medard Mbemba, from testifying in ''Kensington International Ltd. v. Republic of Congo'', in which Kensington, which was trying to co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silver Circle (law Firms)
The Silver Circle is a group of elite corporate law firms headquartered in London that has evolved significantly as the UK legal market has been affected by globalisation and mergers. The law firms generally described by ''The Lawyer'' magazine as comprising the Silver Circle were historically Ashurst, Herbert Smith, Macfarlanes, SJ Berwin and Travers Smith. Etymology The term 'Silver Circle' was coined by ''The Lawyer'' magazine in response to the term ' Magic Circle'. According to ''The Lawyer'', the term 'Silver Circle' is intended to define a category of firms with a similar approach. ''The Lawyer''s editor Catrin Griffiths' definition in 2005 read thus: "Silver circle firms are content to advise a premium UK client base rather than service global institutions. A lot of work is private equity-dominated ..it is sexy and it pays. By the way, there is something else that characterises these firms: a disdain for an overtly managerial approach and a horrified avoidance of bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macfarlanes
Macfarlanes LLP is a London-based law firm. In 2021/22, Macfarlanes achieved total revenues of £303.7 million and profits per equity partner of £2.48 million, respectively the 28th-largest and highest among UK-based law firms. It is regarded as forming part of the " Silver Circle" of leading UK law firms. History Macfarlanes was founded in the City of London in 1875 by George Watson Neish. In 1894 Neish was joined in partnership by John Embleton Macfarlane and the firm moved to premises in Watling Street. The firm's offices suffered bomb damage during the Second World War. In 1958, the firm moved to a new office, Dowgate Hill House. In 1962, the firm adopted its current name Macfarlanes, named after then-senior partner Craig Macfarlane. The firm has grown organically over the years to its current size and has never merged. Vanni Treves was the firm's senior partner from 1987 to 1999. Macfarlanes converted to a limited liability partnership in May 2008. In Septemb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
