How Much Does a Partner at a Magic Circle Law Firm Earn?

Nov 08, 2022

Written By Annika De Lathauwer

The Magic Circle law firms consist of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, Linklaters and Slaughter & May. Within these firms partners can expect to make favourable salaries.

Profit per Equity Partner

Below is an up-to-date list of the average annual profit per equity partner in each Magic Circle firm:

- Clifford Chance - £2 million

- Allen & Overy – 1.95 million

- Freshfields - £1.9 million

- Linklaters £1.77 million

- Slaughter and May – undisclosed

Profit per equity partner is the figure showing how much on average each partner would have made for the firm. It’s calculated by taking the total amount of profits and dividing it by the total number of partners.

However, not all this money will be given out to the partners, as some of it will be kept as reserve. Partners at these law firms could still be receiving up to or more than £1.6 million.

Magic Circle Equity Partner Salaries

Below is a 2018 list of Magic Circle law firm equity partner salaries.

- Freshfields - £1.8 million

- Clifford Chance - £1.6 – 1.7 million

- Allen & Overy - £1.6 - 1.7 million

- Linklaters - £1.7 million

- Slaughter and May - £1.8 million

These figures will have changed over the past four years, but still display a relatively accurate depiction of just how much an equity partner at a Magic Circle law firm can earn.

Equity versus Non-Equity Partner

It’s important to remember that equity partners are the people that will be receiving these kinds of figures. The key difference between equity and non-equity partners is that the latter do not own shares or equity in the firm.

There are still a large number of non-equity partners making wages far closer to those of a senior associate but are still considered partners rather than normal employees of the firm.

Disparity Among Equity Partner Wages

Even among the equity partners not everyone will receive the same amount in wages. Rather, this will typically be divided based on seniority, so that only the most senior members will be receiving those £1.8 million figures. The lower band of equity partner wages will be around £450,000.

Responsibilities of Partners

Both equity and non-equity partners are not like normal employees in a law firm and have certain added responsibilities that they have to take care of. This means that from their paycheques they must pay for their own benefits, such as pension contributions, income tax and self-employed national insurance.

Newly Qualified Solicitor’s Earnings

A newly qualified solicitor (NQ) at a magic circle law firm will earn the salaries listed below.

- Freshfields - £125,000

- Clifford Chance - £125,000

- Allen & Overy - £107,500

- Linklaters - £107,500

- Slaughter and May - £115,000

There is clearly a large difference between the salary of an NQ and a senior equity partner, so it is important to focus on both figures, not merely one or the other when looking at these firms.

Silver Circle Wages

The Silver Circle refers to elite corporate law firms headquartered in the UK, who are the biggest competitors to the Magic Circle. These firms are: Ashurst, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Herbert Smith Freehills, Macfarlanes and Travers Smith.

In some cases pay at Silver Circle law firms has risen above that of the Magic Circle. For example, the Macfarlanes senior equity partner salary has reached almost £2.5 million. Meanwhile, NQ lawyers at MacFarlanes will receive £107,500 plus bonuses.

This is the same as or very close to many of the Magic Circle firms’ NQ wages. Silver Circle law firms may have lower turnovers than those within the Magic Circle but pay higher wages due to higher profits.

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