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Slaughter and May

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Slaughter and May

Headquarters	London
No. of Offices	4
No. of Attorneys	762
Major Practice Areas	General practice
Revenue	$272 million
Date Founded	1889 (London)
Company Type	general partnership
Website	www.slaughterandmay.com

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. It has retained most of these companies as clients post-privatisation. Slaughter and May advises the most FTSE 100 companies (28) of any law firm in the magic circle. 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 not to pursue aggressive international expansion (notably into the United States). Instead, it ensures international capability by relying on a network of so-called "Best Friends" which include some of the leading firms in the major European jurisdictions: Bredin Prat (France), Hengeler Mueller (Germany), Bonelli Erede Pappalardo (Italy), De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek (Netherlands), Uría Menéndez (Spain), Mannheimer Swartling (Sweden), as well as top tier New York firms of the likes of Davis Polk & Wardwell and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz. In Asia, Slaughter and May works with market leaders such as Allens Arthur Robinson and Jun He Law Offices. In recent years it has strengthened its ties with the "Best Friends" by sharing office space with them in both Paris and Brussels. In 2006 Slaughter and May was ranked at the top of the Asian M&A rankings despite having a Hong Kong office as its only representation in the region. According to the Evening Standard, in August 2007, it is the second-most profitable firm in the world based on profitability per equity partner. Most legal directories include in within the top 10 in the world, although usually behind a number of U.S. firms. Slaughter and May is rumoured to be one of the relatively few major law firms left in the world with no written partnership agreement. The firm has always declined to confirm or deny reports.