This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

'Magic Circle' City Law Firms

In everyone's opinion which is the best city law firm to work for? Does anyone know about potential earnings for the various firms further up the pay-scale?

Reply 1

Lawz-

14

Slaughter and May have the best profits per partner ...

Freshfields and Linklaters are about the same...

Then CC and AO I Think

Reply 2

harrydone

OP

Thanks! So what could a senior partner at S&M expect to be paid?

Reply 3

Lawz-

14

£1m is average... but top equity will be about £1.3-1.4

Reply 4

Brown Patrick Bateman

10

'Magic Circle' - Slaughter and May, Freshfields, Clifford Chance, Linklaters, Allen & Overy. Buy a Chambers Student Guide to the Legal Profession for £10, or see their website, which gives in depth profiles of every firm in the country.

RollOnFriday.com gives the precise salaries but typically it's £27-30k for your 1st and 2nd years of training, then £50-55k once you're qualified, and then rises £6-9k annually for a while.

I just did a placement at Slaughter and May; it was an awesome environment and everything that city life's made out to be.

Reply 5

llama boy

7

Jools

It was an awesome environment and everything that city life's made out to be

Care to expand on that at all? (i.e. my image of what city life is made out to be wouldn't make me want to apply for a TC!).

Reply 6

Lawz-

14

People bitch and moan about hours in city law firms.. they really arent that bad ... they want you to bill about 1800 hrs yearly...

Compare that to 2400 is NY!

Reply 7

harrydone

OP

Jools

'Magic Circle' - Slaughter and May, Freshfields, Clifford Chance, Linklaters, Lovells, with Allen & Overy seen as the 6th. Buy a Chambers Student Guide for £10 which gives in depth profiles of every firm in the country.

Thanks i'll look it upon amazon!

I just did a placement at Slaughter and May, I think partners start on £800,000 a year, and hit £1.3-1.4m when made senior partner. It was an awesome environment and everything that city life's made out to be; I may apply for training contracts shortly.

Thats interesting, what did you think of your summer placement? Did it challenge you? What are the social events like? Did you get paid well? My apologies for all the questions but am massively keen on applying for summer placements!

Reply 8

harrydone

OP

Lawzzzzzz

People bitch and moan about hours in city law firms.. they really arent that bad ... they want you to bill about 1800 hrs yearly...

Compare that to 2400 is NY!

Are you currently working for a law firm, or are you in Law School?
Thanks, Harry.

Reply 9

JrW

14

I have been to Freshfields which is a great place.'.....if yo go to RollOnFriday Website you can find everything you ever want about salaries up to 4yrs after qualification in the best london law firms if you go to 'inside info'...personally, i like the look of Slaughter & May and Freshfields, although any magic circle firm im sure is quite interesting!

Reply 10

JrW

14

Here are some links to magic circle law firms:

Slaughter & May

Clifford Chance

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Linklaters

Lovells

Allen & Overy

Reply 11

Tek

7

Don't be boring, become a Barrister instead!

Reply 12

pedy1986

13

Tek

Don't be boring, become a Barrister instead!

screw law! Civil service is where its at!

Reply 13

Tek

7

corey

screw law! Civil service is where its at!

Yes, I was considering entering the Civil Service at one stage...but it's underpaid, and they're cutting jobs, and it isn't particularly prestigious either.

Become a Barrister, join an Inn of Court, and you can enter University debating competitions for the rest of your life...wahey!

Reply 14

pedy1986

13

Tek

Yes, I was considering entering the Civil Service at one stage...but it's underpaid, and they're cutting jobs, and it isn't particularly prestigious either.

Become a Barrister, join an Inn of Court, and you can enter University debating competitions for the rest of your life...wahey!

I want to help my country!! Oh wait..... :frown:

Reply 15

iiikewldude

2

what are the chances of realistically getting into a magic circle firm?

Reply 16

JrW

14

my friend told me that at freshfields they have 1200 applicants for 20 places on a vacation scheme...i imagine that there are just as many people applying for TCs

Reply 17

Lawz-

14

There are more places... And a lot of the applicants will have little chance - because they have 2:2s or because they are not from a top 15 uni

But yes it is hard to get in ... you just have to get the best grades possible - push for a first and it will really help out

Reply 18

Brown Patrick Bateman

10

harrydone

Thats interesting, what did you think of your summer placement? Did it challenge you? What are the social events like? Did you get paid well? My apologies for all the questions but am massively keen on applying for summer placements!

This was an easter placement - 'hands on' experience which was at points challenging, social events included seeing When Harry Met Sally at the theatre, a couple of nights in bars, £27/head meal at Browns and a club, all paid for. I got £250/week which is the standard for top firms for placements. I think you may be a bit late applying for summer placements at top firms now, though you should be able to get an informal experience placement at a local solicitors.

As for the person who asked how difficult it is to get into a magic circle firm, there were 16 places on my scheme, 11 were from Oxford. I was one of just 2 who hadn't achieved a 1st Class in first year exams. Everyone had some sort of credential - president of a society or two, captain of a sports team or two, etc. I can appreciate non-Oxbridge people getting annoyed at the constant talk abt the two places, it wasn't a question of "What uni are you from?" but "What college?".

Reply 19

Brown Patrick Bateman

10

jamierwilliams

my friend told me that at freshfields they have 1200 applicants for 20 places on a vacation scheme...i imagine that there are just as many people applying for TCs

*Whips out Chambers Student Guide to the Legal Profession 2004, ISBN 0-85514-306-1*

Allen & Overy - 4,000 applicants for 120 contracts - 33/place
Clifford Chance - 2,000 for 125 - 16/place
Linklaters - ditto
Freshfields - 2,500 for 100 - 25/place
Lovells - 1,500 for 75 - 20/place
Slaughter & May - 2,500+ for 85 - 29/place

But it's a couple of the smaller firms that have ridiculous figures - e.g. 4000 applicants for 7 places!

'Magic Circle' City Law Firms

Related discussions

Articles for you

How The Student Room is moderated