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The Magic Circle is an informal term used to describe collectively what are considered to be either the five, or possibly six, leading London based law firms - all of which employ primarily solicitors. It is also used as a term to describe the top four Commercial Chambers at the Bar. The historical members of the Magic Circle are:^[1]

• Allen & Overy
• Clifford Chance
• Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
• Linklaters
• Slaughter and May

The following four Chambers are considered the Bar's Magic Circle ^[2]

• Brick Court Chambers
• Essex Court Chambers
• One Essex Court
• Fountain Court Chambers

In April 2002 Legal Business magazine reported that, in its view, the Magic Circle should include Herbert Smith. In June 2007 the same magazine attempted to quantitatively define for the first time what was required to be in the Magic Circle, ranking the six members and rivals on, among others, their number of £500 million-plus mergers and acquisitions mandates, number of FTSE 100 clients, number of large debt and equity capital markets mandates, number of complex litigation cases, profitability and revenues. ^[3]

As of 2006 the first four listed above were in the top seven largest law firms in the world by revenue (in 2006 Clifford Chance became the world's highest-grossing law firm).^[4]

Slaughter and May only ranked 35th in the world on this measure, but it has consistently enjoyed the highest profits per equity partner of the Magic Circle for a number of years. In August 2007, the Evening Standard reported that the firm was the 2nd most profitable large firm in the world. A survey by American business website Vault.com in 2006 adjudged Slaughter and May to be the most prestigious law firm to work for in the United Kingdom.

One reason for the difference in turnover and profitability rests in the distinctive international strategy taken by Slaughter and May from the rest of the Magic Circle, which prefers to maintain its international capability by relying on a network of so-called "Best Friends", members of which typically are leading independent law firms in the relevant jurisdiction. This allows Slaughter and May to enjoy a higher profitability at the expense of a lower turnover compared to the rest of the Magic Circle, which has instead expanded aggressively by establishing many overseas offices. The Lawyer has also stated in 2007 that solicitors in Slaughter and May are not remunerated as generously as at its Magic Circle competitors but will, on average, make partner in less time. The same journal has claimed that the highest salaries of the Magic Circle are paid to solicitors at Allen & Overy.

These firms are generally ranked amongst league tables as the most prestigious firms by other solicitors in England and Wales, and have the highest earnings per-partner and per-lawyer in the United Kingdom. Arguably however, their dominance of the London legal market has been challenged in recent years by American "big law" firms operating branch offices in London, which have a significantly smaller turnover but tend to pay larger salaries.^[5]

• Global Quartet or Big Four, referring to members of the Magic Circle other than Slaughter and May as it has, in general, not pursued a policy of expansion
• Golden Circle, a term used for example, by The Economist, or Silver Circle coined by The Lawyer magazine in 2005 to describe mid-market or boutique law firms in the UK with profits per partner levels similar to those of the Magic Circle but being much smaller in terms of overall turnover and numbers of lawyers
• White shoe firms or Charmed Circle, referring to law firms perceived to be the leading New York City law firms
• Seven Sisters, referring to the seven Canadian law firms considered to be the top tier
• Big Six, referring to six Australian law firms perceived to be of the top tier

• List of law firms
• List of largest European law firms
• List of largest UK law firms

1. ^ http://www.lawbritannia.co.uk/Reference.htm#magic
2. ^ http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=87213
3. ^ http://www.legalbusiness.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=85&Itemid=28
4. ^ The Lawyer Global 100 from The Lawyer published in association with The American Lawyer in November 2006
5. ^ RollOnFriday's Inside Info on pay at London law firms