In his career, he has practiced with the largest law firm (with an international affiliation) in Indonesia and one of the magic circle law firms in Singapore, with a stint at the firm's headquarter . E.g. I dont think its going to gain power or momentum and I dont think its a strengthening brand in itself." We interview the trainees to get the truth about life at the major employers. Freshfields and Allen & Overy now boast similar numbers of ranked partners to Clifford Chance, whose historic focus on the US market, including its merger with New York-based Rogers & Wells in 2000, had seen it edge ahead of its compatriots in the Magic Circle. Here are the 55 universities in the UK and the Republic of Ireland which came up in our sample outside of our top 30, in alphabetical order: Together, trainees from these universities represented 3.1% of the sample. The London universities LSE, UCL and King's continued to perform well here, while Nottingham lost the dominance it maintained in the other London categories. Its all about the grades, we hear and, rightly, firms conceal their preferences for certain universities. They can give you all the details you need about course fees, funding options and more. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. This cookie can only be read from the domain they are set on and will not track any data while browsing through other sites. Copyright The Student Room 2023 all rights reserved. Almost a third of lawyers at the UK's elite Magic Circle law firms attended Oxford or Cambridge universities, new data published today shows. For those in their first-year of uni, now is the time to start thinking about getting . Take our new Which Magic Circle Law Firm is Right For Me? In the past three years we've asked 2,300 trainees at 124 firms which university they went to. The prestige, the career opportunities, the money and the city itself combine to attract the brightest, hungriest graduates. Read one of these interviews with Magic Circle employees! What universities have lawyers at the top firms attended? However, this doesnt mean that they exclusively hire local candidates. And then the drop off after 2016 coincided with changes to student visas in the UK that made it more difficult to be an international student doing the LPC. The term 'silver circle' implies there should be a golden shape before it. During my nine weeks of legal experience, I had the opportunity to experience seven different practice areas, which helped me understand which seats I would be most interested in upon starting a training contract . Next: How to choose your perfect law firm >>. The grades you have achieved and your overall academic standard is more important than the university you attend. The firm has taken on a number of student-related initiatives including Spark, a five-day scheme that provides first-year students with an inside view of the firm, and which this year opened its . Do I need a law degree to get into the magic circle? "[1], In 2013, The Lawyer argued that Clifford Chance and Slaughter and May should no longer form part of the Magic Circle. The Student Room and The Uni Guide are trading names of The Student Room Group Ltd. Register Number: 04666380 (England and Wales), VAT No. With the competition for training contracts becoming increasingly tough, candidates are becoming more conscious of their educational background as they pursue a place at a highly competitive Magic Circle firm. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. LLM? E.g. A list of the universities attended by partners at top City of London law firms has been published. Prestigious law firms lock their gaze on graduates from these prestigious universities, knowing they dont have to look far for the brightest and most driven candidates. The data below is drawn from the entirety of our research in the years 2010, 2011 and 2012. We meet many law firms at far-flung universities and can see the efforts they make to get in front of a diverse student group. 76.5% of trainees at the leading 130+ firms are Oxbridge and Russell Group graduates, London universities topple Oxbridge for graduate earnings in law, Non-law graduates earn 6% more than law grads, Regional firms prefer regional universities. All of the 'Magic Circle' law firms and barristers' Law firms' preferred universities - Chambers Student Guide Web 2016 report: what universities do law firms recruit most from? Quiz, 12 Pro Interview Tips from a Magic Circle Partner, Clifford Chance Interview: From Trainee to Associate, Freshfields training contract recruiter interview, Why You Should Choose a Regional Office Training Contract, Five days of paid work experience to SPARK your law career, Interview with a STEM Trainee Associate at Herbert Smith Freehills, Students currently in their penultimate year of study, finalists and graduates of all degree disciplines, 2021/2022/2023 (March & September intakes), Penultimate or final year students; graduates, 1987, by merger of Clifford Turner and Coward Chance, 8000 (London), 7000 (outside of London), Weeks commencing 13 January and 27 January 2020, You can only apply for SPARK if you are in your first year or the second year of a four year course, Penultimate and final year law students; law graduates; GDL graduates, Winter Training Contract (Law and Non-Law), Final year law students; law graduates; final year non-law students; non-law graduates, 8000 (in London), 7000 (outside of London), Penultimate and final year law or non-law students; law or non-law graduates; law or non-law postgraduates, 1889, by William Capel Slaughter and William May, BPP University, London Waterloo + GDL Extra Programme, Law students in the penultimate year of their undergraduate degree and law students in the second year of a four year course who will be going abroad in their third year. How suitable are you and what do recruiters want? As a result, there are certain universities that you won't find mentioned here (such as Wolverhampton, Glamorgan, Birmingham City etc..) Their absence doesn't mean that these universities failed to produce any trainees in three years just that we didn't encounter any in our interviews. The Magic Circle includes Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters and Slaughter and May. It may be time to reconsider the way we define and consider the so-called Magic Circle of elite U.K. firms. Read more: Slaughter and May boosts pay packet for newly qualified solicitors to 100,000 as Magic Circle pay war rages. The cookie is set by the email marketing service MailChimp. We interviewed a sample of 7000 (exactly!) We interviewed over 2,500 trainees for our True Picture reviews over the past three years and recorded the university where each one of them completed their undergraduate degree. This is no surprise given the dominance of the duo in academia. Copyright The Student Room 2023 all rights reserved. InvestmentBankin. It is worth doing some research to see if this is an option for you. At these firms, we spoke to graduates of46 different universities. But the highest salaries in the business and top-notch commercial work also demand stamina and an appetite for long hours and hard work, more than any other city. Used by Microsoft as a unique identifier. Thankfully many of the most elite firms are focusing much energy on addressing this bias, with programmes like contextual recruiting, and unconscious bias and diversity training. Thats up from 85 in our 2013-2015 research and from 76 in our 2010-2012 research. Here, we break down the facts. Guys, do you prefer to be called hot or handsome? These results mostly relate to the larger commercial firms that take part in our guide. The term was coined by legal reporters in the 1990s[1] and is generally considered to include the following five law firms: Allen & Overy; Clifford Chance; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Linklaters; and Slaughter and May. Furthermore, given some suggestions that Clifford Chance and Linklaters will follow their compatriots' lead in stateside expansion, alongside the novel options for local hiring and remote work in the post-pandemic world, it appears that this trend will only continue going forwards. and "At the end of the day we see ourselves as one of the leading global law firms, not one of the leading Magic Circle firms". This elite group of London law firms specialises in corporate and finance work and this enables them to be involved in multi-billion pound deals and to boast massive profits each year. These are the Magic Circle law firms: Allen & Overy. City heavies Clifford Chance and Macfarlanes set the ball rolling with 'CV blind' interviews; a recruitment method which (you guessed it) leaves interviewers in the dark about candidates' educational backgrounds. King's College London A102 GEM 2023 Entry. The 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. They are the five UK-based firms considered to be amongst the most prestigious in the world. According to the data, 31.4 per cent of trainee lawyers at Londons elite Magic Circle firms Linkaters, Slaughter and May, Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer went to Oxbridge. So we cant conclude that the law firms have hired from a more diverse range of universities: whatever progress has happened beyond the Russell Group, its not significant. We don't describe ourselves as a Magic Circle firm in any of our marketing material. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form. This cookie is to identify the source of a visit and store user action information about it in a cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. But this ranking doesn't reveal the full story. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website. Oxbridge grads make up a quarter of London trainees and a fifth of all trainees. Magic is in the air at this Biglaw firm! Want to impress interviewers with your commercial awareness prowess? Visit the guide page below for more information. Is it even worth me applying to magic circle law firms, Scared about job prospects at Leicester uni. London's total profit went from over 150% of New York's in . (Flip to the next page to read the full memo from Linklaters.) The Global Elite law firms comprise Allen & Overy; Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton; Clifford Chance; Davis Polk & Wardwell; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Herbert Smith Freehills; Kirkland & Ellis; White & Case; Latham & Watkins; Linklaters; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Sidley Austin; and Weil, Gotshal & Manges. The remaining Russell Group universities were also represented strongly, while interviewees from other UK universities were comparatively low. There are grads from Oxbridge, Durham, Nottingham, Brum, Cardiff, Bristol, Leeds, UCL, LSE, Kings, Sheffield, York, Newcastle, Exeter and tons more from different universities within the UK working at top law firms. Big Three law firms, an informal term for leading law firms in New Zealand. Follow us for breaking news and latest updates, The Trend Micro Cybersecurity Knowledge Hub, 10 services and companies to help grow your business, Slaughter and May boosts pay packet for newly qualified solicitors to 100,000 as Magic Circle pay war rages, Freshfields increases partner pay to 1.84m. But otherwise, the best advice we can give is to study a subject you care about career success is about passion, not playing a numbers game. In essence, the silver circle refers to the band of firms that fall just . Nearly one in four of our London interviewees had an Oxbridge degree. Linkedin - Used to track visitors on multiple websites, in order to present relevant advertisement based on the visitor's preferences. Those winning a hotly contested training contract at a Magic Circle firm can expect to be richly rewarded, with all five firms increasing compensation for newly qualified lawyers to over 100,000 this summer. Get on a law firm work experience programme. BTEC Business Unit 6 (Principles or Management) May 2nd Resit (2023), Which poems from love and relationships should i memorise? This allowed other Russell Group universities to ascend the charts: note Durham is no longer the top of the Russell Group outside the capital, giving way to Manchester. [3], In 2014, it was reported that Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer wished to discard its Magic Circle designation in the US in favour of being part of the Global Elite. If your university doesnt rank highly in our report, should you be concerned? US is pretty obvious except in cases where there was a transatlantic merger; wed still consider Hogan Lovells, NRF and BCLP City firms because of their strong London origins. The range of universities feeding the market grew by 14% in three years. 10. Indeed, before its launch in the Silicon Valley, Freshfields' East Coast hires included the attention-grabbing addition of Ethan Klingsberg, a highly rated M&A partner from Cleary Gottlieb, and Willkie Farr securities litigator Mary Eaton, both of whom are ranked in the Chambers USA 2021 Guide, as well as adding employee benefits expert Lori Goodman from Latham & Watkins and hiring antitrust duo Meghan Rissmiller from Hogan Lovells and Julie Elmer from the US Department of Justice's Antitrust Division. Arguably for this reason, it was not included in the initial Magic Circle. Part of the Dukes Education family Together we're extraordinary. Kings - English law and French law degree, Law Applicants 2023 entry - discussion thread, HKU-UCL, KCL-CUHK, Exeter-CUHK Law interviews, Cambridge Sixth Form Law Conference 2023 (CSFLC). But which universities do Magic Circle Firms really recruit from? Although Oxbridge students make up less than 1% of each years graduating class, they made up a whopping 15.4% of all our trainee lawyer interviewees. GCSE AQA LIT. Find out about the prestigious firms that make up this elite group below [12] These 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[13][14][15] (and, in some instances, higher than members of the Magic Circle). These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Just take a look at our table below: What do they look for in Allen & Overy training contract candidates? 1. The university superduo dominated the US and magic circle firms in particular: 24% of all US firm trainees and 31% of all magic circle trainees hailed from an Oxbridge undergrad background. Here we plotted university background against eventual NQ earnings. Instead this is simply the raw data broken down. This survey doesnt account for the numbers graduating from each institution. E.g. We wouldnt recommend making life choices based only on these figures, though. Durham is the best out of your choices, but all will be fine, all are Russell Group and are visited by the magic circle firms. To help you make an informed decision, wed like to put you in touch with our partner law schools. Clifford Chance. Other notable Russell Group unis which perform disappointingly include York (2%), Warwick (3%) and LSE (4%). But there are new discoveries, and questions you should ask, like what this tells us about the firms, what your prospects are and who your colleagues will be, and then deeper concerns arise about social mobility in the law. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Can you do anything with a 2:1 in Oxford law? Can you do anything with a 2:1 in Oxford law? The most noticeable change in the chart saw Manchester elevated to fourth place as opposed to tenth in London overall. Those who argue that both university admissions and law firm hiring is meritocratic should take a look at our School Backgrounds of Trainees report, which showed that an undeniable bias towards privately educated graduates exists in the profession. They are the five UK-based firms considered to be amongst the most prestigious in the world. This is despite Oxbridge students making up less than one per cent of each years graduating class. We have only looked at undergraduate degrees for the purposes of this study. 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. Almost a third of lawyers at the UKs elite Magic Circle law firms attended Oxford or Cambridge universities, new data published today shows. Magic/Silver Circle law firms often require you to have a minimum of AAB at A-level. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Don't get lazy and assume you've made it: the name of your university is not an elixir that will impel recruiters to hand you a training contract. King's College London A102 GEM 2023 Entry. Here are the results. Barristers from it worked on 64 matters for the Magic Circle law firms since 2015. In comparison to the larger London firms, the gap between Cambridge and Durham closed, while the prominence of certain Russell Group members shifted: Exeter, Southampton and Leeds gained traction, while Manchester slipped again. Or a Magic Circle partner salary? The coloured arrows indicate rises or falls compared to our 2012 survey. And the mix was refreshingly eclectic: one of our interviewees had originally trained as a vet at the Royal Veterinary College; another was a musician who'd earned a degree at Trinity College of Music; and a couple had explored their artistic interests at the Courtauld Institute. magic circle law firms, I was surprised to see LSE placed quite low. The Super Boutique law firms comprise Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Sullivan & Cromwell; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Slaughter and May; and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. If theres a regional firm youre interested in, its still worth applying, highlighting what you would bring to the role. This cookie is set when an AdsWizz website visitor have opted out the collection of information by AdsWizz service or opted to disable the targeted ads by AdsWizz. Number of Individuals Rankings in Chambers USA. With the exception of Slaughter and May, which closed its New York base in 2004 and eschews international offices beyond its Brussels, Beijing and Hong Kong locations, all four remaining Magic Circle firms are rapidly emerging as major competitors in the US, each boasting an increasing number of elite, Chambers-ranked attorneys across a diverse range of practice areas. Following a . Privacy Policy of each partner law school I have selected above. Exploring trainee secondments and career moves into the Asia market. At these firms, we spoke to graduates of 68 universities. In nine years, law firms appetite for Oxbridge and Russell Group students has remained pretty much constant. Copyright 2023 Legal Cheek Ltd. All Rights Reserved. At these firms, we spoke to graduates of 36 universities. If youre looking for firsthand interview tips from a Magic Circle partner, make sure to look at our blog post 12 Pro Interview Tips from a Magic Circle Partner with all the practical advice you need to have your best interview yet! Incidentally, Oxford (24%) did better than Cambridge (20%). Linklaters lawyers and graduate recruiters share their advice. What do they look for in Slaughter and May training contract candidates? DLA Piper, Eversheds, Shoosmiths, Trowers & Hamlins. This information is used to compile report and improve site. Does it matter which university you go to for law? These firmscompete to pay the top salaries, outstripping the magic circle firms, while the style of work is not miles away from the UK elite. This survey doesnt account for the numbers graduating from each institution. Our interviewees came from a total of 88 universities over the past three years. However, entry into the Magic Circle is . The graph above implies theres a difference in average earnings between law and non-law grads, so we crunched the numbers and found this: the average NQ salary for non-law students is 72,551, 6% higher than the average NQ salary earned by law grads: 68,406. In 1920, Linklater & Co merged with Paines Plythe & Huxtable, a firm that had been founded by a descendent of one of the founding fathers of the United States, Thomas Paine. What do they look for in Linklaters training contract candidates? If you're considering where to complete your undergraduate degree, do not let the results of this report override key considerations: a particular course youre passionate about; doors open to you by pursuing a certain course; a locations appeal and the accompanying cost of living; how close by your parents should be; the social life and your general happiness. The biggest percentage jump was claimed by the non-Russell bunch: together they now accounted for almost a quarter of the trainees. [1], In contrast to the Club of Nine, the Magic Circle is no informal grouping of law firms. The Student Room and The Uni Guide are trading names of The Student Room Group Ltd. Register Number: 04666380 (England and Wales), VAT No. Since employability is a factor in a universitys status and funding, this is a convenient relationship for both the firms and the universities, so its hard to break. This might reassure the non-law grads that theyre not starting their careers on the back foot, and should certainly encourage wavering GDL applicants. The number of universities that trainees hailed from was up by 14% compared to our last report three years ago. Throughout your education each of these three elements will develop the other two its what employers mean by well-rounded. What universities do Magic Circle Firms recruit from. This feature was first published in February 2016, Read our True Picture review of 130 top law firms, The school background of trainee solicitors. Could someone read this and share their thoughts and corrections? End of the road: Why More Than will no longer sell car insurance as insurer RSA quits market, Could fixing workplace stress save the UK 28bn a year? A second group comprising Bristol, Nottingham and Durham made up 16% of all trainees in our research. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Masaryk University; is it worth going as an international student? It does not store any personal data. If you're currently studying at a non-Russell Group university, do not be discouraged by this report. That seems big and it is but its down 5% from our previous survey of the years 2013-2015, although over nine years weve witnessed a 3% drop in the Russell Groups dominance. It is the Make sure you've been consistently on track for that 2:1 (minimum); get yourself some relevant work experience, ideally at a firm; keep yourself abreast of what's happening in the wider world and how that may affect the industry; and build up your interpersonal charm those vital soft skills that are required in order to build rapport with clients and generate business. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. When we leave London, we find Oxbridge only coming in at ninth and tenth on the chart. "[1] Then corporate partner at Herbert Smith Freehills and former investment banker Henry Raine said: "The phrase was coined by a legal magazine and referred to firms which were very strong in corporate or international work. The order of universities changes depending on the market and region of the UK. The Student Room and The Uni Guide are both part of The Student Room Group. The Chambers USA 2021 guide will be released in May 2021. One of my distant relatives is a director at one of the Magic Circle Law Firms, however I am yet to contact them regarding it. Considered the oldest international law firm in the world; Original partner Samuel Dodd was appointed solicitor to the Bank of England Freshfields have continued to be the legal advisor to the bank ever since; Appointed the first legal services provider to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. A breeze from overseasThe fortunes of overseas undergrads in our survey is interesting, in particular how they beat every UK university in the salaries table. To find out about qualifying as a lawyer from overseas, read on>>, City (above including the magic circle and US firms): firms focused on City business sectors, such as finance, capital markets, corporate transactions, investment, insurance, energy. Youve heard of the Magic Circle, but did you know that theres also a Silver Circle? ", "UK 200: Record 11 firms join the 1m PEP club", "The long read: How the silver circle shattered", "Magic Circle Law Firms: The Ultimate Guide", "The magic circle: meet the City's top commercial law firms", "Guest post - The Magic Circle is doomed. At national firms those with various offices throughout the UK a clear winner emerged: Manchester took centre stage, leaving Durham some way behind. The term has also been used to describe the most prestigious barristers' chambers in London. How likely is a UK property market crash and what IS happening with house prices? You can find all of the answers to these questions using our free guide start reading below! So dont fret if youre at a uni outside the RG there were fewer training contract applicants. Other firms have since followed suit, in a bid to help remove bias from the process and allow recruiters to focus solely on an individual's qualities and responses. Below are the 30 universities that were most frequently cited. (Part 2), Shared bathrooms student accommodation Southampton. Rather than instantly concluding Russell Group unis are better for getting a training contract, its worth noting top unis are often the ones pumping out larger numbers of law students. This is not too surprising, as many of the largest national firms have a strong collection of offices in these areas. 1. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Our graph below makes no distinction between UK and non-UK citizens. Prestigious law firms lock their gaze on graduates from these prestigious universities, knowing they dont have to look far for the brightest and most driven candidates. The West Coast office launches, which mark the first venture into California by a member of the Magic Circle since Clifford Chance shuttered its 5-year old offices in 2007, reversed a recent trend in the London market, where expansive US-headquartered firms would frequently staff their own offices from among the partner ranks of elite UK firms. This cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos. If youre an aspiring solicitor, youve almost certainly heard of the Magic Circle law firms. Want regular information and advice on how to get into law? Do I need a law degree to get into the magic circle? And our big discovery is that very little has changed in a decade. The firm has 570 partners and over 6,000 staff. It really isn't about uni, firms want to distance themselves from the oxbridge stereotype and simply want the best candidates regardless of who is awarding your degree But this is the UK, where judging people on their university is pretty much mandatory in the legal profession especially.
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