The Silver Circle is a term coined by The Lawyer

The Lawyer

The Lawyer is a weekly British magazine for commercial lawyers and corporate directors, first published in 1981. It is owned by Centaur Media plc....

magazine in 2005 to refer to a group of corporate law firm

Law firm

A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...

s headquartered in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 which all fall outside of the Magic Circle

Magic Circle (law)

The "Magic Circle" is an informal term used to collectively describe what are generally regarded to be the five leading UK-headquartered law firms and the four or five leading London-based commercial barristers' chambers.-Law firms:...

 and have a substantially lower turnover than the members of that group but have an average profit per equity partner (PEP) and average revenue per lawyer (RPL) considerably above the UK average.

Composition

As defined by The Lawyer magazine, the Silver Circle comprises Ashurst

Ashurst (Law firm)

Ashurst LLP is a full-service international law firm. Its principal business focus is mergers and acquisitions, corporate and structured finance...

, Berwin Leighton Paisner

Berwin Leighton Paisner

Berwin Leighton Paisner is an international law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom and a member of the 'Silver Circle' of leading UK law firms. It has nine offices in eight countries around the world, predominantly providing services in corporate, finance, dispute resolution, real estate...

, Herbert Smith

Herbert Smith

Herbert Smith LLP is an international law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The firm has offices in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm was founded in the City of London in 1882 by Norman Herbert Smith and today has 240 partners and 1,300 fee-earners.-History:The firm was...

, Macfarlanes

Macfarlanes

Macfarlanes LLP is a corporate law firm based in London, United Kingdom. In 2010/11 it achieved total revenues of £94.7 million and profits per equity partner of £752,000. It has been described as forming part of a group of London-based law firms called the 'Silver Circle'...

, SJ Berwin

SJ Berwin

SJ Berwin is an international law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is currently the 19th-largest law firm in the UK measured by revenues...

 and Travers Smith

Travers Smith

Travers Smith is a corporate law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The firm has almost 300 lawyers, including 60 partners.The firm employs around 385 staff and operates in 14 specialist practice areas. Travers Smith was voted UK Law Firm of the Year in 2007 and 2008...

. Their 2009-10 turnover, PEP and UK ranking is in this table:

#	Law firm	Turnover (2010/11)	Profit per equity partner (2010/11)
8	Herbert Smith Herbert Smith Herbert Smith LLP is an international law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The firm has offices in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm was founded in the City of London in 1882 by Norman Herbert Smith and today has 240 partners and 1,300 fee-earners.-History:The firm was...	£465.1m	£900,000
11	Ashurst Ashurst (Law firm) Ashurst LLP is a full-service international law firm. Its principal business focus is mergers and acquisitions, corporate and structured finance...	£303m	£723,000
13	Berwin Leighton Paisner Berwin Leighton Paisner Berwin Leighton Paisner is an international law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom and a member of the 'Silver Circle' of leading UK law firms. It has nine offices in eight countries around the world, predominantly providing services in corporate, finance, dispute resolution, real estate...	£229m	£712,000
19	SJ Berwin SJ Berwin SJ Berwin is an international law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is currently the 19th-largest law firm in the UK measured by revenues...	£179m	£626,000
32	Macfarlanes Macfarlanes Macfarlanes LLP is a corporate law firm based in London, United Kingdom. In 2010/11 it achieved total revenues of £94.7 million and profits per equity partner of £752,000. It has been described as forming part of a group of London-based law firms called the 'Silver Circle'...	£94.7m	£752,000
43	Travers Smith Travers Smith Travers Smith is a corporate law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The firm has almost 300 lawyers, including 60 partners.The firm employs around 385 staff and operates in 14 specialist practice areas. Travers Smith was voted UK Law Firm of the Year in 2007 and 2008...	£72m	£750,000

See also

• Magic Circle
  Magic Circle (law)
  The "Magic Circle" is an informal term used to collectively describe what are generally regarded to be the five leading UK-headquartered law firms and the four or five leading London-based commercial barristers' chambers.-Law firms:...
  
  , referring to the five leading UK-headquartered law firms; also used to describe what are often perceived to be the top four Commercial Chambers
  Chambers (law)
  A judge's chambers, often just called his or her chambers, is the office of a judge.Chambers may also refer to the type of courtroom where motions related to matter of procedure are heard.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :...
  
   at the Bar
• Big Three, referring to three Texas law firms considered to be the top tier.
• Big Five
  Big Five law firms (South Africa)
  The Big Five law firms is a term informally used in South Africa to refer to those law firms which, collectively, are perceived to be the largest firms based in South Africa....
  
  , referring to the five largest South African law firms.
• Seven Sisters
  Seven Sisters (law firms)
  The Seven Sisters refers to a collection of seven leading Canadian law firms with offices in Toronto. The term can be traced back to at least 2001, when it may have been coined by Sandra Rubin to describe the top seven Canadian law firms by mergers and acquisitions deal volume...
  
  , referring to the seven Canadian law firms considered to be the top tier.
• Big Six, referring to six Australian law firms perceived to be of the top tier.
• White shoe firm
  White shoe firm
  White shoe firm is a phrase used to describe the leading professional services firms in the United States, particularly firms that have been in existence for more than a century and represent Fortune 500 companies...
  
  s or Charmed Circle, referring to law firms perceived to be the leading New York City law firms.