Slaughter and May

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Slaughter and May is a "Magic Circle" law firm based in the City of London, England. The firm was founded January 1, 1889 by William (later Sir William) Capel Slaughter and William May.

During the 1980s, the firm acted on a number of the privatisations instigated by the Conservative Government, including British Aerospace, Amersham International, Associated British Ports, British Airways, Enterprise Oil, Sealink, Jaguar, British Telecom, Britoil, BP, British Gas, British Steel and the electricity industry.

Slaughter and May advises the most FTSE 100 companies (30 or so). Several surveys (the most recent one, conducted by Vault, was published in the summer of 2006) confirm Slaughter and May's reputation as the most "prestigious" firm in the City, although such attribute is admittedly subjective and, in a way, arbitrary.

Apart from its Corporate dominance, the firm is highly regarded for Tax, EU/Competition and Capital Markets.

Also of note is the fact that qualified lawyers within the Corporate Finance departments do not specialise in one particular area but are more client-focused thus providing a broader range of services.

It is the only member of the Magic Circle to not pursue aggressive international expansion (notably into the United States). Instead, it ensures international capability by relying on a network of so-called "Best Friend" which include some of the leading firms in the major European jurisdictions: Bredin Prat (France), Hengeler Mueller (Germany), Bonelli Erede Pappalardo (Italy), Uría Menéndez (Spain), as well as top tier New York firms of the likes of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.