Magic vs Silver Circle Firms in London
Magic vs Silver Circle Firms in London
Anthony Matthews
25 September 2025
Biglaw, Big 6, White Shoe; there are many bizarre ways that we group firms in the global legal landscape. London is no exception, and the terms ‘magic’ and ‘silver’ circle are bandied around to describe the top 10 or so British headquartered firms in London. Yes, the terms magic and silver have no relation to each other at all but in this article, we’ll look into the history and differences between the firms from a London context.
Etymology
When considering the term ‘magic circle’, the first thing that comes to mind is magicians and secret orders, so it is a little confusing when this term also relates to corporate law! In the late 20th century, the largest firms in London went by the inspired title ‘Club of Nine’ comprising: Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Freshfields, Herbert Smith, Linklaters, Lovells, Norton Rose, Slaughter and May & Stephenson Harwood.
Over time and through a number of mergers, strategy changes etc. this group changed, and legal reporters started to introduce the term ‘magic circle’ to group together the five most profitable and prestigious firms which has stood to this day. These are: A&O Shearman, Clifford Chance, Freshfields, Linklaters & Slaughter and May.
The silver circle was a term coined in 2005 by The Lawyer magazine to designate the next tier of firms who had lower revenue and PEP to the magic circle but still competed with them. There is more debate surrounding the constituent members, but generally, they are seen as: Ashurst, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, Macfarlanes, Norton Rose Fulbright, Travers Smith
Mid-Atlantic v Silver Circle
When grouping firms, there are always going to be those that miss out or that some think should be included, especially when they used to be members of the silver circle or club of nine such as BCLP and Hogan Lovells.
The argument would be that they can’t be silver circle firms, as they are no longer headquartered solely in the UK, but then one certainly wouldn’t call them White Shoe US firms. If this is a point of difference from the silver circle & magic circle, then the question does come up about Herbert Smith’s recent merger with Kramer in the US and A&O with Shearman and Sterling. It may be that the terms we use will change in the coming years as more and more large UK firms tie up with US outfits.
Most mid-Atlantic firms are very much in the mould of the silver circle and although salaries between firms such as BCLP (£115 NQ) and Hogan Lovells (£140 NQ) are quite far apart, the culture and hours are akin to what one would expect from a silver circle firm.
Salary
Yes, magic circle firms pay more than silver circle but it is nowhere near the difference between the magic circle and US firms, with the leading US firms NQ salaries being around the £170-80k mark.
Generally speaking, magic circle firms pay £150-£200k (NQ-Senior Associate) silver circle £130-185k (NQ-Senior Associate). The magic circle more a less pay the same across the board with Slaughters slightly behind. Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer and Macfarlanes often pay a little more than their silver circle counterparts.
Hours
With higher pay comes higher hours, it’s a simple equation when it comes to the London legal landscape. Whilst hours can sometimes compete with US firms, especially if you are with a magic circle firm, UK firms offer more predictability with hours due to team sizes being larger than US counterparts and culture being more Anglicised/European.
With a busy team at a magic circle firm, you’d expect to be doing 1900-2000 billables in a year (7.3 – 7.7 daily billables) and with a silver circle firm 1750 – 1900 (6.7 – 7.3) so about a billable per day difference between the two.
Culture/Size
Magic circle firms are the largest in the UK and if you are in a corporate, finance or disputes team you’ll be working in massive teams compared to any other firms in London. The benefits of this is great training and getting to work on high-profile matters however, most associates at silver circle or US firms will benefit from having higher levels of responsibility on matters from the smaller teams.
Culture in the silver circle is a little more relaxed and partners and leadership teams do often encourage this as a point of difference from the magic circle firms and it can also be a good recruiting tool.
Culture can also depend on the international nature of the firm as some silver circle firms have larger Asian and Australian offices meaning that there are a number of people on secondment or opportunities to travel/collaborate with overseas offices. Some firms in both silver circle and magic circle have only one UK office and work with best friend firms meaning that travel and work would be more UK & Europe focused. This can also make the culture a little more ‘old-school’ English which can be a little more reserved than firms that have the huge international reach.
International Hiring
Much of our work is moving overseas associates into firms in London and the silver and magic circle firms are the most likely to hire internationally. Some firms within the magic and silver circle do have a strong Australian presence so can easily move associates internally whilst all of the other constituent members have hired international associates. There are some practice areas where the move isn’t so common (employment, real estate etc.) and some firms will have a preference for England & Wales qualified lawyers in a quieter market but if you are looking to move to London from a common law jurisdiction, magic and silver circle firms would be your best bet.
Progression Opportunities
Although the number of promotions may seem pretty similar below, you have to compare this to the number of associates within these firms. To give an example, if we look at the trainee cohort from 2015 (the class where many of these partners were made up from), Allen & Overy took on 81 NQs whilst Travers Smith took on 35.
Using this evidence, which is pretty similar across the board, you could surmise that you are about 10% more likely to make partner with a silver circle firm than with a magic circle firm.
Once again, when comparing against the US firms, you will have a much better chance of making partner with a magic/silver circle firm than with a US firm due to the model and lateral hiring practices that these firms have.
Partnership Promotions for the last two years at the magic and silver circle firms:
- A&O Shearman – 9 (’24 – 9)
- Clifford Chance – 12 (’24 – 14)
- Freshfields – 9 (’24 – 6)
- Linklaters – 16 (’24 – 14)
- Slaughter and May – 6 (’24 – 5)
- Ashurst – 12 (’24 – 8)
- Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer – 5 (’24 – 8)
- Macfarlanes – 9 (’24 – 6)
- Norton Rose – 11 (’24 – 7)
- Travers Smith – 9 (’24 – 6)
Anthony P Matthews
Biglaw, Big 6, White Shoe; there are many bizarre ways that we group firms in the global legal landscape. London is no exception, and the terms ‘magic’ and ‘silver’ circle are bandied around to describe the top 10 or so British headquartered firms in London. Yes, the terms magic and silver have no relation to each other at all but in this article, we’ll look into the history and differences between the firms from a London context.
Etymology
When considering the term ‘magic circle’, the first thing that comes to mind is magicians and secret orders, so it is a little confusing when this term also relates to corporate law! In the late 20th century, the largest firms in London went by the inspired title ‘Club of Nine’ comprising: Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Freshfields, Herbert Smith, Linklaters, Lovells, Norton Rose, Slaughter and May & Stephenson Harwood.
Over time and through a number of mergers, strategy changes etc. this group changed, and legal reporters started to introduce the term ‘magic circle’ to group together the five most profitable and prestigious firms which has stood to this day. These are: A&O Shearman, Clifford Chance, Freshfields, Linklaters & Slaughter and May.
The silver circle was a term coined in 2005 by The Lawyer magazine to designate the next tier of firms who had lower revenue and PEP to the magic circle but still competed with them. There is more debate surrounding the constituent members, but generally, they are seen as: Ashurst, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, Macfarlanes, Norton Rose Fulbright, Travers Smith
Mid-Atlantic v Silver Circle
When grouping firms, there are always going to be those that miss out or that some think should be included, especially when they used to be members of the silver circle or club of nine such as BCLP and Hogan Lovells.
The argument would be that they can’t be silver circle firms, as they are no longer headquartered solely in the UK, but then one certainly wouldn’t call them White Shoe US firms. If this is a point of difference from the silver circle & magic circle, then the question does come up about Herbert Smith’s recent merger with Kramer in the US and A&O with Shearman and Sterling. It may be that the terms we use will change in the coming years as more and more large UK firms tie up with US outfits.
Most mid-Atlantic firms are very much in the mould of the silver circle and although salaries between firms such as BCLP (£115 NQ) and Hogan Lovells (£140 NQ) are quite far apart, the culture and hours are akin to what one would expect from a silver circle firm.
Salary
Yes, magic circle firms pay more than silver circle but it is nowhere near the difference between the magic circle and US firms, with the leading US firms NQ salaries being around the £170-80k mark.
Generally speaking, magic circle firms pay £150-£200k (NQ-Senior Associate) silver circle £130-185k (NQ-Senior Associate). The magic circle more a less pay the same across the board with Slaughters slightly behind. Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer and Macfarlanes often pay a little more than their silver circle counterparts.
Hours
With higher pay comes higher hours, it’s a simple equation when it comes to the London legal landscape. Whilst hours can sometimes compete with US firms, especially if you are with a magic circle firm, UK firms offer more predictability with hours due to team sizes being larger than US counterparts and culture being more Anglicised/European.
With a busy team at a magic circle firm, you’d expect to be doing 1900-2000 billables in a year (7.3 – 7.7 daily billables) and with a silver circle firm 1750 – 1900 (6.7 – 7.3) so about a billable per day difference between the two.
Culture/Size
Magic circle firms are the largest in the UK and if you are in a corporate, finance or disputes team you’ll be working in massive teams compared to any other firms in London. The benefits of this is great training and getting to work on high-profile matters however, most associates at silver circle or US firms will benefit from having higher levels of responsibility on matters from the smaller teams.
Culture in the silver circle is a little more relaxed and partners and leadership teams do often encourage this as a point of difference from the magic circle firms and it can also be a good recruiting tool.
Culture can also depend on the international nature of the firm as some silver circle firms have larger Asian and Australian offices meaning that there are a number of people on secondment or opportunities to travel/collaborate with overseas offices. Some firms in both silver circle and magic circle have only one UK office and work with best friend firms meaning that travel and work would be more UK & Europe focused. This can also make the culture a little more ‘old-school’ English which can be a little more reserved than firms that have the huge international reach.
International Hiring
Much of our work is moving overseas associates into firms in London and the silver and magic circle firms are the most likely to hire internationally. Some firms within the magic and silver circle do have a strong Australian presence so can easily move associates internally whilst all of the other constituent members have hired international associates. There are some practice areas where the move isn’t so common (employment, real estate etc.) and some firms will have a preference for England & Wales qualified lawyers in a quieter market but if you are looking to move to London from a common law jurisdiction, magic and silver circle firms would be your best bet.
Progression Opportunities
Although the number of promotions may seem pretty similar below, you have to compare this to the number of associates within these firms. To give an example, if we look at the trainee cohort from 2015 (the class where many of these partners were made up from), Allen & Overy took on 81 NQs whilst Travers Smith took on 35.
Using this evidence, which is pretty similar across the board, you could surmise that you are about 10% more likely to make partner with a silver circle firm than with a magic circle firm.
Once again, when comparing against the US firms, you will have a much better chance of making partner with a magic/silver circle firm than with a US firm due to the model and lateral hiring practices that these firms have.
Partnership Promotions for the last two years at the magic and silver circle firms:
- A&O Shearman – 9 (’24 – 9)
- Clifford Chance – 12 (’24 – 14)
- Freshfields – 9 (’24 – 6)
- Linklaters – 16 (’24 – 14)
- Slaughter and May – 6 (’24 – 5)
- Ashurst – 12 (’24 – 8)
- Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer – 5 (’24 – 8)
- Macfarlanes – 9 (’24 – 6)
- Norton Rose – 11 (’24 – 7)
- Travers Smith – 9 (’24 – 6)
Anthony P Matthews