The Silver Circle is a group of elite corporate law firms headquartered in London, United Kingdom that focus on that market.
Video Silver Circle (law firms)
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 magazine editor Catrin Griffiths' definition in 2005 read: "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 big firm bureaucracy.".
Maps Silver Circle (law firms)
Members
Current members
The Silver Circle is generally viewed to comprise between three and five firms. The law firms generally described by The Lawyer as comprising the Silver Circle are Macfarlanes, Mishcon de Reya and Travers Smith.
Debate about Slaughter and May's membership of the Magic Circle and Silver Circle
Slaughter and May has been considered to form part of the Magic Circle (although The Lawyer magazine no longer considers it to form part of the Magic Circle due to its lower revenues and domestic focus). In 2017, The Lawyer magazine stated that "Slaughters fits the silver circle bill in every respect. London-centric, sky-high PEP, top-tier work, an aura of prestige: Slaughter and May is far more like Macfarlanes than the magic circle quartet it is commonly lumped in with. To put it in the same category as Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters would be inaccurate, and to say it is in a class of its own is frankly showing the firm too much deference.".
History and evolution
The Silver Circle in 2005
As defined by The Lawyer magazine in 2005, the Silver Circle initially comprised Ashurst, Herbert Smith Freehills, Macfarlanes, SJ Berwin and Travers Smith. At the time, Berwin Leighton Paisner was listed as an 'associate member' of the Silver Circle. According to The Lawyer it was "Not yet well enough established to merit full membership".
According to The Lawyer, Lovells (now Hogan Lovells) and Norton Rose (now Norton Rose Fulbright, which had ambitions of expanding internationally, did not meet the criteria for the Silver Cirlce and were instead designated in an 'internationalists' bracket that also included DLA Piper, Clyde & Co, Simmons & Simmons and Denton Wilde Sapte.
The Silver Circle in 2017
In 2017, The Lawyer argued the group of five firms that made up the original Silver Circle in 2005 had adopted different strategies. Three pursued international ambitions, while two remained UK-focused.Ashurst, Herbert Smith Freehills and SJ Berwin each followed international expansion strategies, and, according The Lawyer, did not meet the criteria for continued membership of the Silver Circle.
The Lawyer was also of the view that Berwin Leighton Paisner, who initially had the potential to be a full member of the Silver Cirlce, did not meet the criteria of the Silver Circle.
In addition to Macfarlanes and Travers Smith, The Lawyer argued that Mishcon de Reya formed part of the Silver Circle.
Relationship with the Magic Circle
The Silver Circle firms have a lower turnover than the members of the Magic Circle, but consistently have an average profits per equity partner (PEP) and average revenue per lawyer (RPL) far above the UK average (and, in some instances, higher than members of the magic circle).
The term Silver Circle, however, is not intended to mark these firms as subservient to the Magic Circle. Contrary to what the term Silver Circle may suggest, there is no Golden Circle.
Related terms
- Big Three law firms, an informal term for leading law firms in New Zealand.
- Big Four law firms, an informal term for leading law firms in Japan.
- Big Five law firms, an informal term for leading law firms in South Africa.
- Big Six law firms, an informal term for leading law firms in Australia. In 2012, three of these firms merged with overseas firms, and one other began operating in association with an overseas firm. As a consequence, it has proposed that the term is no longer applicable to the Australian legal profession, displaced by the concept of Global Elite law firms or International Business law firms.
- Offshore magic circle, an informal term for leading law firms in offshore financial centers.
- Red Circle law firms, an informal term for leading law firms in the People's Republic of China coined by The Lawyer magazine in 2014. For further information, also see the list of the largest Chinese law firms.
- Seven Sisters law firms, a collection of seven leading Canadian law firms with offices in Toronto.
- White Shoe law firms, an informal term for leading law firms in the United States.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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