Slaughter and May
A guide to the law firm Slaughter and May: what it’s best known for, recent work highlights, what it pays, and its revenue and profitability.
Last updated:
December 11, 2024
A guide to the law firm Slaughter and May: what it’s best known for, recent work highlights, what it pays, and its revenue and profitability.
Slaughter and May is known as the most prestigious law firm in the UK, with a rich history dating back to its founding in 1889. It stands as one of the Magic Circle law firms, the group of the five most prestigious UK law firms.
The firm is known for its compact size and smaller revenues relative to its peers, choosing not to expand its lawyer numbers aggressively. While its revenues may be smaller than the rest of the Magic Circle, it is regarded as the most profitable law firm in the UK. Its profit per equity (PEP) is thought to be as high as £3.5 million.
It's recognised for its conservative and more traditional culture, with a ‘quality over quantity’ ethos, distinguishing it within an industry often characterised by expansion and scale.
Slaughters' reputation is built on a foundation of being the go-to firm for corporate/M&A advice, and it is known for its long-standing relationships with high-profile UK-listed corporate clients. Slaughter and May boasts more FTSE 100 clients than any other firm.
The firm's approach to international work is different to the rest of the Magic Circle. Instead of establishing a large network of offices worldwide, it opts for a single headquarters in London with just three overseas offices in Beijing, Brussels and Hong Kong. Outside of this, it leverages long-standing relationships with leading law firms across different countries to service clients across multiple jurisdictions.
The firm is famously selective about the clients it advises and it is equally selective about the financial information it shares with the rest of the market.
Slaughter and May is still a general partnership, rather than a limited liability partnership (LLP), with all assets and liabilities shared equally among the partners. It remains the only large UK law firm not to register as an LLP.
Because it is a general partnership, Slaughter and May doesn’t need to publicly file its accounts, so its revenue and profits are industry best estimates.
Slaughter and May tops our ranking of the UK's most prestigious law firms.
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Here are three examples of recent transactions and matters Slaughter and May has advised on:
£36bn Class Action against BHP: Slaughter and May is acting for mining giant BHP over the 2015 collapse of the Fundao dam in Brazil. BHP is defending itself against the biggest class action in British legal history, brought by more than 620,000 Brazilian individuals, 1,500 businesses and 46 municipalities seeking up to £36bn in damages. The case began in the High Court in October 2024.
Nationwide’s £2.9bn Takeover of Virgin Money: Slaughter and May advised Nationwide on its £2.9bn all-cash offer for Virgin Money in March 2024. The combined group will be the UK’s second biggest mortgage and savings group with assets of £366bn.
Barratt Redrow £2.5bn Merger: Slaughter and May advised listed housebuilder Redrow plc on its £2.5bn all-share takeover by rival Barratt in February 2024.
Tracking lawyer office attendance: Slaughter and May made headlines in January 2024 when it said it would start monitoring when its lawyers enter its London office HQ and share the data on a monthly basis with team leaders and HR. The firm follows a post-pandemic hybrid work model that requires lawyers to work from the office at least three days a week, with stricter requirements for trainees and new joiners.
Reduced hours for reduced pay: Slaughter and May has a ‘reduced hours for reduced pay’ working option for all associates at the firm. The ‘switch on/off’ model allows lawyers to cut their working time to 0.9 or 0.8 FTE (Full-time equivalent) by booking predetermined blocks of unpaid leave off. Associates are still expected to work five days a week, but they can take their accrued time off in two pre-agreed blocks over a 12-month period.
Legal tech incubation programme: Slaughter and May runs a legal tech programme known as 'Collaborate'. The programme offers startup founders the chance to test and develop their product, seek detailed feedback, and build their network. The programme also offers access to the opportunity to pitch for financial investment via Slaughter and May Ventures, the firm's investment platform. Legal tech startup Atria AI is a recent success story from the programme.
Place within the Magic Circle: Should Slaughters really be considered part of the Magic Circle any longer given its limited international footprint, much smaller revenues, and more specialised focus on what it's known as being the very best at (e.g. M&A)? Many in the industry now view Slaughters as an outlier compared to its Magic Circle peers for that reason.
Slaughter and May is a full service corporate law firm. Its clients include corporations, financial institutions and governments and it's particularly renowned for its work in the following practice areas:
Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A): The firm is a leader in high-profile, complex M&A transactions, advising private companies and FTSE-listed clients. It's ranked in Band 1 by Chambers for 'Corporate/M&A: £800m+'.
Banking and Finance: Slaughter and May has a leading banking and finance department, it is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers for ‘Big-Ticket’ transactions for its advice to borrowers. The firm also has a leading financial crime and regulatory practice.
Competition and Antitrust: Strong expertise in navigating regulatory challenges, merger controls, and competition law disputes, particularly in the EU through its Brussels office. Slaughter and May is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers for 'Competition Law'.
We use Chambers rankings to demonstrate a firm's strengths. Chambers is the most highly-regarded provider of law firm rankings in the legal industry. Law firms are ranked in bands from 1 (highest) to 6 (lowest) across a range of practice areas.
It's important to note that being ranked in any band at all is still considered a significant achievement.
Slaughters competes directly with the rest of the Magic Circle for the biggest mandates on UK deals, although its limited international footprint means clients will often prefer its Magic Circle rivals for global matters where they want a 'one-stop shop'.
Here's what Slaughter and May pays its trainees and newly qualified (NQ) lawyers:
Trainee First Year: £56,000
Trainee Second Year: £61,000
Newly Qualified (NQ): £150,000
We have a list of salaries paid by all of the UK’s top law firms here.
Slaughter and May is a general partnership rather than an LLP with no obligation to publicly file accounts.
Slaughter and May’s 2023 revenue was estimated to be £572 million making it the 15th biggest law firm in the UK by revenue.
In 2023, its profit per equity partner (PEP) was not disclosed but it is thought to be as high as £3.5 million.
In 2023, Slaughter and May’s average profit per equity partner (PEP) was estimated at £3.5 million.
This is the total amount of profit available for distribution among equity partners, divided by the number of equity partners at the firm.
This represents the average amount that equity partners are entitled to. Some will receive significantly more, some less. It depends on the firm’s profit-sharing formula and each partner’s seniority.
Slaughter and May takes on around 80 trainees each year.
Trainees complete four seats in different departments, each lasting six months. All trainees must complete at least two seats in the firm’s Corporate/M&A and Finance departments.
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