A related trend is the growing emergence of the big four as a replacement for the magic circle. The latter term has been a brand that has served its members very well but, despite valiant efforts from Ashurst and Herbert Smith, a successor grouping looks more likely to shrink than admit new members.
There are two dangers for Slaughters inherent in such shifts. The first is obvious: as more work migrates abroad, its influence could fade as mandates shift to global firms. Likewise, the UK’s liberal takeover regime will likely see more domestic companies falling into the arms of foreign owners, further weakening Slaughters’ peerless boardroom connections. That is not theoretical, it is already happening.
The other threat is less proven: that as Slaughters becomes over-shadowed by London’s big four and falls further down the deal rankings, its drawing power with the brightest students and junior lawyers will suffer. The firm is convinced that this is not the case but it’s a fear that keeps Slaughters’ partners awake at night.
Can they buck the market? On one level, yes, because there is always room for the best and most neutral observers would say that, pound for pound, Slaughters still has the best lawyers. That is not so much that its finest are better than rainmakers at Linklaters or Freshfields, it is more down to sheer quality control across the partner and senior associate ranks.
Maintaining this edge is probably the only thing that will keep Slaughters and its best friends in the game against its global rivals. After all, it is hard to see how Slaughters and its allies can ever compete with global rivals if their lawyers are simply as good; all things being equal, integrated firms will, in the long term, squeeze out referral allies, even if only due to the shifts in the procurement of legal services at major plcs. To make the model work, Slaughters and co have to be better. Slaughters accurately compares its approach to the Avis slogan, “We try harder”. That is just as well because London’s finest has set the bar for itself startlingly high.
Editors' Blog: A disarming new head to lead Slaughters
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