Still mates? How Slaughters, Macfarlanes and Travers Smith are surviving the US invasion
London’s elite law firms are hoping their connections with stateside peers can offer shelter from a surge in mergers
When New York law firm Paul Weiss burst into London by hiring a band of Kirkland & Ellis heavyweights in 2023, some predicted trouble for Slaughter and May.
The City institution had long-benefitted from a transatlantic ‘best friend’ arrangement. Paul Weiss referred work when its clients needed English law advice, while Slaughters directed those needing US expertise back to the white-shoe firm. It gave Slaughter and May access to Wall Street clients and US firepower without a New York office. It shuttered its small Manhattan base in 2004.