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Magic Circle (law)
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. All of the 'Magic Circle' law firms and barristers' chambers specialise primarily in corporate law. History and evolution The term was coined by legal reporters in the 1990s and is generally considered to include the following five law firms: Allen & Overy; Clifford Chance; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Linklaters; and Slaughter and May. The Magic Circle has been termed a "journalistic device, coined by legal reporters in the wake of the break-up of its predecessor, the 'Club of Nine'". The Club of Nine was an informal group of law firms that comprised Allen & Overy; Clifford Chance; Freshfields (now Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer); Herbert Smith (now Herbert Smith Freehills); Linkl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as '' Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London, governed by the Greater London Authority.The Greater London Authority consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The London Mayor is distinguished fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephenson Harwood
Stephenson Harwood LLP is a law firm with over 1,100 people worldwide, including more than 190 partners. Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with eight offices across Asia, Europe and the Middle East. In 2020/21 it achieved total revenues of £209 million and profits per equity partner of £685,000 (2020/21) History When attorney William Harwood returned to London after practising in China, he and Henry Stephenson created the firm of Harwood & Stephenson in 1875. The firm's history can be traced back to 1828 and the City law firm Tatham & Lousada. In 1920 Tathams merged with Stephenson Harwood – as the firm was by then known – to form Stephenson Harwood & Tatham, renamed Stephenson Harwood in 1977. Two years later as one of the first UK firms to enter the Asian market, it has now been in Hong Kong for over forty years. In 2002 the merger with City shipping specialist Sinclair Roche & Temperley gave it a Shanghai office. Stephenson Harwood played an instrumental role ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CMS (law Firm)
CMS is an international law firm that offers legal and tax advisory services. It provides companies and organisations with advice on a full range of legal issues. CMS consists of 18 independent law firms with about 80 offices worldwide. History In 1999, six European law firms with 1,400 lawyers and roughly DM 500 million in joint revenues came together to form CMS. Under the CMS brand, which initially drew criticism, a "partnership of partnerships" emerged. The member law firms retained their established names. A central service unit was created to provide administrative and IT services for the members. Initially, CMS included law firms from Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and the United Kingdom among others. Over the course of the 2000s, additional law firms joined from France, Italy, Monaco, Switzerland and Spain, along with other countries. In 2008, the law firm opened its first joint office in Russia. With the merger of CMS Cameron McKenna with Nabarro and Olswang i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is an American international law firm with approximately 1,100 attorneys, headquartered in New York City. With a gross annual revenue in excess of $1.8 billion, it is among the world's largest law firms according to ''The American Lawyer's'' AmLaw 100 survey. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious law firms in the world. Overview The firm was founded in New York City in 1931 by Frank Weil, Sylvan Gotshal, and Horace Manges. Since 1968, Weil has been headquartered in the General Motors building, overlooking Central Park, in New York City's Manhattan borough. After its founding in 1931, the firm grew steadily in the following decades, taking on clients including General Electric and General Motors, and becoming one of the largest law firms in the country. In 1975, the firm opened an office in Washington, D.C., its first outside New York City, followed in the 1980s by locations in Miami, Houston and Dallas. In 1991, the year that the i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sidley Austin
Sidley Austin LLP is an American multinational law firm with approximately 2,000 lawyers in 20 offices worldwide. The firm's headquarters is at One South Dearborn in Chicago's Loop. The firm specializes in a variety of areas in both litigation and corporate practices. History Origins in Chicago The firm that was to become Sidley Austin was formed in Chicago in 1866 by Norman Williams and John Leverett Thompson as the partnership of Williams & Thompson. Among the firm's first clients were the Pullman Company, the manufacturer of specialty sleeping railway cars, and former first lady Mary Todd Lincoln, then the widow of President Abraham Lincoln. Other early clients included Western Union Telegraph Company, which moved its Midwest headquarters from Cleveland to Chicago in 1869. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the firm represented numerous insurance companies including Equitable Life Assurance Society. In 1892, William Pratt Sidley joined the firm after having earned ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates is an American multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1948, the firm consistently ranks among the top U.S. law firms by revenue. The company is known for its work on company mergers and takeovers. History The firm was founded in 1948 in New York by Marshall Skadden, John Slate and Les Arps. In 1959 William Meagher joined the firm and Elizabeth Head, the firm's first female attorney, was hired. In 1960 the firm's name became Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. In 1961 Peter Mullen, who later served as Skadden's first executive partner, joined the firm. In 1973 the firm opened its second office, in Boston. In 1981 Peggy L. Kerr became Skadden's first female partner. In 1985 Skadden was ranked as one of the three largest law firms in the United States. In 1987 the firm opened its first international office, in Tokyo. In 1988 the Skadden Fellowship Foundation was created. Skadden's New York City ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is an international white shoe law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm specializes in litigation and corporate practices, particularly mergers and acquisitions, with over 1,000 attorneys in 11 offices worldwide. History John W. Simpson, Thomas Thacher and William M. Barnum organized the firm as "Simpson, Thacher & Barnum" on January 1, 1884, with offices at 9 Pine Street. The three were formerly law clerks at the old-line firm Alexander & Green. The first associate salary was ten dollars, and the first retainer fee was fifty dollars. In 1889, the name was changed to "Reed Simpson Thacher & Barnum" when former U.S. House Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed joined the firm. Reed died in 1902, and the name was soon changed to Simpson Thacher Barnum & Bartlett. The final change came in 1904 when it was amended to its current name of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. From its original location at 9 Pine Street, the firm has operated at many offices throug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latham & Watkins
Latham & Watkins LLP is an American multinational law firm. Founded in 1934 in Los Angeles, California, Latham is the second-largest law firm in the world by revenue. As of 2021, Latham is also one of the most profitable law firms in the world, with profits per partner exceeding US$4.5 million. History The firm was founded in January 1934 in Los Angeles, California, by Dana Latham and Paul Watkins. Latham's practice focused on state and federal tax law, and he eventually served as Commissioner of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service under President Dwight Eisenhower. Watkins's practice focused primarily on labor. At first, the firm grew slowly, with only 19 attorneys employed as of 1960.Latham.com , Retrieved May 19, 2010. Beginning in the 1970s, the firm began growing rapidly, opening new offices in Orange County, Wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White & Case
White & Case LLP is a global law firm based in New York City. Founded in 1901, the firm has 46 offices in 31 countries worldwide and has been ranked among the top ten firms worldwide by revenue. History The firm was launched on May 1, 1901 when two Wall Street lawyers, Justin DuPratt White, 31, and George B. Case, 28, each contributed $250 () to launch White & Case. White had attended Cornell University and was married to a banking heiress while Case attended Yale, playing baseball as a student athlete. The pair had a close relationship with Henry P. Davison, a noted banker who helped create the Federal Reserve. The firm's first clients included Bankers Trust Company. James Hurlock led the firm as chairman from 1980 to 2000. Under Hurlock, the firm tripled its roster of lawyers and expanded into multiple global markets. Duane Wall was named chairman in 2000. Although he refocused its business on New York's financial services industry, Wall also oversaw a merger with the Ger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1909, Kirkland & Ellis is the largest law firm in the world by revenue and the seventh-largest by number of attorneys, and was the first law firm in the world to reach US$4 billion in revenue. As of 2021, Kirkland & Ellis ranks third on Am Law's list of profits per equity partner. While Kirkland & Ellis was historically considered a firm focused on litigation, during the 2010s, it expanded private equity and restructuring practices which, together with large-scale commercial litigation, comprise the core legal service areas of the firm. Many attorneys from the firm have served as federal officials or judges, including United States Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and former Attorney General William Barr. History In 1909, two attorneys, Stuart G. Shepard and Robert R. McCormick, formed the Chicago-based partnership that would eventually become Kirkland & Ellis. Mc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Davis Polk & Wardwell
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, better known as Davis Polk is a white-shoe, international law firm headquartered in New York City with 980 attorneys worldwide and offices in Washington, D.C., Northern California, London, Paris, Madrid, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo, and São Paulo. The firm has consistently been recognized as a global leader in banking & financial services as well as in capital markets. History Davis Polk traces its origin to a one-man practice in Manhattan opened by a 21-year-old lawyer, Francis N. Bangs. The firm changed its name several times to account for new partners, using names such as Bangs & Stetson; Bangs, Stetson, Tracey & MacVeagh, and Stetson, Jennings & Russell. Towards the end of the 19th century, J. P. Morgan hired Francis Stetson, then name partner of the firm, as his chief counsel. During Stetson's tenure, the firm helped Morgan to restructure the Pennsylvania Railroad as well as create General Electric. The modern incarnations of Morgan's business, JP ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (known as Cleary Gottlieb) is an American multinational law firm headquartered at One Liberty Plaza in New York City. Known as a white shoe law firm, Cleary employs over 1,200 lawyers worldwide. History The firm was founded in 1946 when six partners from the firm of Root, Clark, Buckner & Howland left to found a firm which they initially called "Cleary, Gottlieb, Friendly, & Cox." One of those partners was Henry Friendly, whose name was removed from the firm's name after he was appointed as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1959. Melvin Steen was among the founding partners. The firm has been more active on large merger and acquisitions deals involving Russian companies under sanctions or restrictions than any other law firm since 2010. The firm advised Russian state-owned energy groups Rosneft and Gazprom. Offices The New York office is situated in One Liberty Plaza, across the street from the World Tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
