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The Magic Circle is an informal term for what are generally considered the five leading law firms headquartered in the United Kingdom, and the four or five leading London-based commercial barristers' chambers.
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Law firms
The five law firms generally regarded as constituting the Magic Circle are:
These firms are generally regarded as being the most prestigious law firms headquartered in the UK, and consistently have among the highest earnings per-partner and earnings per-lawyer of UK-headquartered law firms.
In 2016 four members of the Magic Circle were among the ten largest law firms in the world measured by revenues, with Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Allen & Overy, and Linklaters respectively the sixth-largest, seventh-largest, ninth-largest and tenth-largest by this measurement. In 2016 Slaughter and May was the 48th-largest law firm in the world by this measure, with revenues of $793.2m.
Those UK-headquartered firms commonly regarded as the main competitors of the Magic Circle are sometimes referred to as the "Silver Circle"; these firms are generally smaller than the members of the Magic Circle in revenues, but also have a level of earnings per-partner and earnings per-lawyer which are far above the average for UK-based law firms.
Barristers' chambers
The following barristers' chambers in the United Kingdom are occasionally, by analogy, described by commentators as the Bar's Magic Circle: