White shoe firm
Encyclopedia
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. It typically—but not always—refers to banking, law and management consulting firms, and frequently refers to firms in New York City
and Boston
.
, the phrase derives from "white bucks," laced suede
or buckskin
shoes with a red sole, long popular among upper-class New England
ers, especially at Ivy League
colleges. Originally, it reflected a stereotype
of old-line firms populated by WASP
s, but the phrase has since become innocuous. However, it is still defined by Princeton University
's Wordnet as "denoting a company or law firm owned and run by members of the WASP elite who are generally conservative," which shows that the original connotation has not changed entirely.
, usage of the term has since been expanded to other top-rated prestigious firms. Many of these firms were founded as a direct result of the exclusionary tendencies of the original white-shoe firms, which provided limited opportunities for Jewish and Catholic lawyers, as well as other non-WASPs.
Note: while these firms are known rather undisputedly as the top strategy consulting firms, some contended that such firms as A.T. Kearney
, Booz & Company
, Arthur D. Little
, and Monitor Group
should also be considered white shoe. Rankings of these firms in Vault and Consulting Magazine varied from year to year, but they have never dethroned the top firms in overall rankings.
, "white shoe brigade", has been used in the past to describe a group of Queensland
property developers who backed, and benefitted from, former Queensland State Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen
. The term is a contemptuous allusion to the lower social class antecedents of such men, revealed by their gaudy and tasteless choice of clothing, which included brightly coloured or patterned shirts, slacks with white stripes or in pastel shades, and shoes and belts of white leather, these often having gold or gilt buckles. A strong-smelling aftershave
was often worn, as well. They became known for shady deals with the government concerning property development, often with dire consequences for heritage buildings.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, particularly firms that have been in existence for more than a century and represent Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
companies. It typically—but not always—refers to banking, law and management consulting firms, and frequently refers to firms in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
Etymology and Definition of Charmed Circle
According to William SafireWilliam Safire
William Lewis Safire was an American author, columnist, journalist and presidential speechwriter....
, the phrase derives from "white bucks," laced suede
Suede
Suede is a type of leather with a napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, shirts, purses, furniture and other items. The term comes from the French "gants de Suède", which literally means "gloves of Sweden"....
or buckskin
Buckskin
Buckskin may refer to:*Buckskin , leather made of buck hide*Buckskins, an outfit of buckskin leather*Buckskin , a color of horses similar to buckskin leather...
shoes with a red sole, long popular among upper-class New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
ers, especially at Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
colleges. Originally, it reflected a stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
of old-line firms populated by WASP
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant or WASP is an informal term, often derogatory or disparaging, for a closed group of high-status Americans mostly of British Protestant ancestry. The group supposedly wields disproportionate financial and social power. When it appears in writing, it is usually used to...
s, but the phrase has since become innocuous. However, it is still defined by Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
's Wordnet as "denoting a company or law firm owned and run by members of the WASP elite who are generally conservative," which shows that the original connotation has not changed entirely.
Examples of white-shoe firms
The following firms are often referred to as being white-shoe firms:Banks, investment banks, and merchant banks
- Bache & Company, acquired by Prudential SecuritiesPrudential SecuritiesPrudential Securities was the financial services arm of the insurer, Prudential Financial. In 2003, Prudential Securities was merged into Wachovia Securities, a division of Wachovia Bank.-History:...
and later Jefferies & Company - Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. is an American investment bank and securities firm, founded in 1818, it is the oldest and largest private bank in the United States. Brown Brothers Harriman serves clients globally in three main businesses: Investment Banking & Advisory, Wealth Management, Commercial...
- Dillon, Read & Co.Dillon, Read & Co.Dillon, Read & Co. was a prominent American investment bank from the 1920s into the 1960s.-Origins:Dillon Read traces its roots to 1832 with the founding of the Wall Street brokerage firm Carpenter & Vermilye. This firm was succeeded by Read & Company in which chief principal was William A. Read. ...
, acquired by Swiss Bank CorporationSwiss Bank CorporationSwiss Bank Corporation was a large integrated financial services company located in Switzerland...
(later UBS) - Drexel & Company, merged with Burnham & Company to form Drexel Burnham LambertDrexel Burnham LambertDrexel Burnham Lambert was a major Wall Street investment banking firm, which first rose to prominence and then was forced into bankruptcy in February 1990 by its involvement in illegal activities in the junk bond market, driven by Drexel employee Michael Milken. At its height, it was the...
(defunct) - First BostonFirst BostonFirst Boston Corporation was a New York-based, bulge bracket, investment bank, founded in 1932 and acquired by Credit Suisse in 1990. Together with its sister investment banks, it was referred to as CS First Boston after 1993 and part of Credit Suisse First Boston after 1996, the First Boston part...
, acquired by Credit SuisseCredit SuisseThe Credit Suisse Group AG is a Swiss multinational financial services company headquartered in Zurich, with more than 250 branches in Switzerland and operations in more than 50 countries.-History:... - G.H. Walker & Co., acquired by White Weld & Co.White Weld & Co.White Weld & Co. was a Boston-based investment bank, historically managed by Boston Brahmins until its sale to Merrill Lynch in 1978. The Weld family name can be traced back to the founding of Massachusetts in the 1630s.-History:...
(later Merrill LynchMerrill LynchMerrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
) - Hayden, Stone & Co.Hayden, Stone & Co.Hayden, Stone & Co. was a major securities firm founded in 1892 by Charles Hayden and Galen L. Stone. The firm was acquired by Cogan, Berlind, Weill & Levitt in 1972 and was part of what ultimately would become Shearson/American Express in 1981.-History:...
, acquired by ShearsonShearsonShearson was the name of a series of investment banking and retail brokerage firms from 1902 until 1994, named for Edward Shearson and the firm he founded, Shearson Hammill & Co...
, later Shearson Lehman Hutton - Hornblower & WeeksHornblower & WeeksHornblower & Weeks was an investment banking and brokerage firm founded by Henry Hornblower and John W. Weeks in 1888. At its peak in the late 1970s, Hornblower ranked eighth among member firms of the New York Stock Exchange in number of retail offices, with 93 retail sales offices located in the...
, acquired by Loeb, Rhoades & Co.Loeb, Rhoades & Co.Loeb, Rhoades & Co. was a Wall Street brokerage firm founded in 1931 and acquired in 1979 by Sanford I. Weill's Shearson Hayden Stone. Although the firm would operate as Shearson Loeb Rhoades for two years, the firm would ultimately be acquired in 1981 by American Express to form Shearson/American...
, later Shearson Lehman Hutton - J.P. Morgan & Co.J.P. Morgan & Co.J.P. Morgan & Co. was a commercial and investment banking institution based in the United States founded by J. Pierpont Morgan and commonly known as the House of Morgan or simply Morgan. Today, J.P...
- J. & W. Seligman & Co.J. & W. Seligman & Co.J. & W. Seligman & Co., founded in 1846, was a prominent U.S. investment bank c. 1860s–1920s until the divestiture of its investment banking arm in the aftermath of the Glass–Steagall Act. The firm was involved in the financing of several major U.S. railroads in the 1870s and the construction of...
, spun-off investment banking Union SecuritiesUnion SecuritiesUnion Securities Corporation was an independent investment banking firm in existence from 1938 through its acquisition in 1956 although the name would survive through 1972. Union Securities was created in 1938 as a spinoff of the investment banking operations of J. & W. Seligman & Co. as a result...
, operates as investment management company - Kidder, Peabody & Co.Kidder, Peabody & Co.Kidder, Peabody & Co. was a U.S.-based securities firm, established in Massachusetts in 1865. Its operations included investment banking, brokerage, and trading....
, acquired by General ElectricGeneral ElectricGeneral Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
and later Paine WebberPaine WebberPaine Webber and Company was an American stock brokerage and asset management firm that was acquired by the Swiss bank UBS AG in 2000. The company was founded in 1880 in Boston, Massachusetts, by William Alfred Paine and Wallace G. Webber. Operating with two employees, they leased premises at 48... - Morgan, Grenfell & Co.Morgan, Grenfell & Co.Morgan, Grenfell & Co. was a leading London-based investment bank regarded as one of the oldest and once most influential British merchant banks.-History:...
, acquired by Deutsche BankDeutsche BankDeutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets... - Morgan StanleyMorgan StanleyMorgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....
, spun-off from J.P. Morgan & Co.J.P. Morgan & Co.J.P. Morgan & Co. was a commercial and investment banking institution based in the United States founded by J. Pierpont Morgan and commonly known as the House of Morgan or simply Morgan. Today, J.P... - Roosevelt & SonRoosevelt & SonRoosevelt & Son was an investment banking firm connected with the Roosevelt Family for nearly two centuries. The firm was among the oldest banking houses on Wall Street.Many of the male members of the Roosevelt family worked for the firm in some capacity....
, liquidated - Salomon BrothersSalomon BrothersSalomon Brothers was a bulge bracket, Wall Street investment bank. Founded in 1910 by three brothers along with a clerk named Ben Levy, it remained a partnership until the early 1980s, when it was acquired by the commodity trading firm Phibro Corporation and then became Salomon Inc. Eventually...
, acquired by CitigroupCitigroupCitigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate... - S. G. Warburg & Co.S. G. Warburg & Co.S. G. Warburg & Co. was a London-based investment bank. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but it was acquired by Swiss Bank Corporation in 1995.-Founding and early history:...
, acquired by Swiss Bank CorporationSwiss Bank CorporationSwiss Bank Corporation was a large integrated financial services company located in Switzerland...
(later UBS) - White Weld & Co.White Weld & Co.White Weld & Co. was a Boston-based investment bank, historically managed by Boston Brahmins until its sale to Merrill Lynch in 1978. The Weld family name can be traced back to the founding of Massachusetts in the 1630s.-History:...
, acquired by Merrill LynchMerrill LynchMerrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
Law firms
- Arnold & PorterArnold & PorterArnold & Porter LLP is a nine-office international law firm based in Washington, D.C. Arnold & Porter is well known for its trial, corporate, and antitrust work, and for its pro bono commitments and support for liberal causes.-History:...
- Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
- Cravath, Swaine & MooreCravath, Swaine & MooreCravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is a prominent American law firm based in New York City, with an additional office in London. The second oldest firm in the country, Cravath was founded in 1819 and consistently ranks first among the world's most prestigious law firms according to a survey of partners,...
- Covington & BurlingCovington & BurlingCovington & Burling LLP is an international law firm with offices in Beijing, Brussels, London, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, San Diego, and Washington, DC. The firm advises multinational corporations on significant transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters...
- Davis Polk & WardwellDavis Polk & WardwellDavis Polk & Wardwell LLP is an international law firm. The firm employs more than 800 attorneys worldwide and is headquartered in New York City. The firm represents many of the world's largest companies and leading financial institutions, and is best known for its corporate and litigation...
- Debevoise & PlimptonDebevoise & PlimptonDebevoise & Plimpton LLP is a prominent international law firm based in New York City. Founded in 1931 by Eli Whitney Debevoise and William Stevenson, Debevoise has been a long established leader in corporate litigation and large financial transactions. In recent years, its practice has taken on an...
- Dewey & LeBoeufDewey & LeBoeufDewey & LeBoeuf LLP is a prominent global white shoe law firm, headquartered in New York City. Originally founded in 1909, the firm currently has over 2400 lawyers spread throughout 26 offices in 15 countries on 4 continents, and is known primarily for its corporate, insurance, litigation, tax and...
- Hogan & Hartson merged with Lovells LLP into Hogan Lovells.
- Jones DayJones DayJones Day is an international law firm founded in Cleveland, Ohio on March 1, 1893, by Judge Edwin J. Blandin and William Lowe Rice. Jones Day is the eighth largest law firm in the world by revenue, and the fourth highest grossing firm in the US with annual revenues of US$1.4 billion...
- Latham & WatkinsLatham & WatkinsLatham & Watkins LLP is a global law firm, one of the largest in the world. Latham currently employs approximately 2,000 attorneys in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm was started in Los Angeles in 1934 and has extensive Californian roots, but its largest office is now...
- Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloyMilbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloyMilbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP is a United States law firm headquartered in New York City. It also has offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Tokyo, Hong Kong, São Paulo, Singapore and Beijing.Milbank is a global law firm, with approximately 550 lawyers who...
- Ropes & Gray
- Shearman & SterlingShearman & SterlingShearman & Sterling LLP is a law firm headquartered in New York City with 20 offices located in major financial centers around the world founded in 1873. It is well known for both its litigation and transactional capabilities, especially in International Arbitration, Capital Markets, Finance, and...
- Sidley AustinSidley AustinSidley Austin LLP, formerly known as Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP, is one of the oldest law firms in the world. It is the sixth-largest U.S.-based corporate law firm with more than 1,650 lawyers, annual revenues of more than one billion dollars, and offices in 17 cities worldwide, with the most...
- Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett
- Sullivan & CromwellSullivan & CromwellSullivan & Cromwell LLP is an international law firm headquartered in New York. The firm has approximately 800 lawyers in 12 offices, located in financial centers in the United States, Asia, Australia and Europe. Sullivan & Cromwell was founded by Algernon Sydney Sullivan and William Nelson...
- White & CaseWhite & CaseWhite & Case was founded in New York in 1901 and has grown into one of the world's leading global law firms. The firm has since expanded, and has practice groups in emerging markets including Latin America, Central & Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, as well as in Europe...
- Willkie Farr & GallagherWillkie Farr & GallagherFounded in 1888, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is an international law firm with eight offices in six countries . The firm has cultivated a strong corporate practice focused on investment funds, bankruptcy and intellectual property...
The "new" white-shoe banks
While the term "white-shoe" historically applied only to those law firms populated by WASPsWhite Anglo-Saxon Protestant
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant or WASP is an informal term, often derogatory or disparaging, for a closed group of high-status Americans mostly of British Protestant ancestry. The group supposedly wields disproportionate financial and social power. When it appears in writing, it is usually used to...
, usage of the term has since been expanded to other top-rated prestigious firms. Many of these firms were founded as a direct result of the exclusionary tendencies of the original white-shoe firms, which provided limited opportunities for Jewish and Catholic lawyers, as well as other non-WASPs.
- Goldman, Sachs & Co.
- Lazard Frères & Co.
The "new" white-shoe law firms
- Cahill Gordon & ReindelCahill Gordon & ReindelCahill Gordon & Reindel LLP is a prominent New York-based international law firm with offices in New York, Washington, D.C. and London...
- Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton
- Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & JacobsonFried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & JacobsonFried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP is a law firm founded in New York City in the early 20th century that has grown into an international law firm with offices in New York City, Washington, DC, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The firm has 468 attorneys worldwide...
- Gibson, Dunn & CrutcherGibson, Dunn & CrutcherGibson, Dunn & Crutcher is a global law firm, founded in Los Angeles in 1890. The firm is one of the most prestigious and selective in the nation, and ranks among the most successful firms globally. Gibson Dunn has nearly 1,000 attorneys and over 2,000 staff located in 17 offices around the world,...
- Kaye Scholer
- O'Melveny & Myers
- Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & GarrisonPaul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & GarrisonPaul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is a law firm headquartered on Sixth Avenue in New York City. The firm has well-noted expertise in its corporate, personal representation, entertainment law and litigation practices, having long been a leader among national litigation firms...
- Proskauer RoseProskauer RoseProskauer Rose is one of the largest law firms in the United States, with twelve offices in the United States and around the world...
- Schulte Roth & ZabelSchulte Roth & ZabelSchulte Roth & Zabel is an American law firm and one of the top 100 largest law firms by revenue. The firm was founded in New York City in 1969 and launched in London offering American and English law capabilities in 2002. The firm also has an office in Washington, D.C...
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & FlomSkadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & FlomSkadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates , founded in 1948, is a prominent law firm based in New York City. With over 2,000 attorneys, it is one of the largest and highest-grossing law firms in the world. Forbes magazine calls Skadden "Wall Street's most powerful law firm"...
- Steptoe & JohnsonSteptoe & JohnsonSteptoe & Johnson LLP is an international law firm recognized for representation of clients before governmental agencies, advocacy in complex litigation and arbitration, and advice in guiding business transactions...
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzWachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzWachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is a prominent law firm located in New York City. Herbert Wachtell, Martin Lipton, Leonard Rosen, and George Katz founded the firm in 1965. All four were graduates of New York University School of Law...
- Weil, Gotshal & MangesWeil, Gotshal & MangesWeil, Gotshal & Manges is a prominent international law firm, one of the largest and most prestigious in the world with 1,200 lawyers and gross annual revenue in excess of $1.1 billion. The firm was founded in New York City in 1931 by Frank Weil, Sylvan Gotshal, and Horace Manges...
Consulting firms
- Bain & CompanyBain & CompanyBain & Company is a global management consulting firm headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Bain is considered one of the most prestigious consulting firms in the world, with 47 offices in 30 countries and over 5,500 professionals on staff globally...
- Boston Consulting GroupBoston Consulting GroupThe Boston Consulting Group is a global management consulting firm with offices in 42 countries. It is recognized as one of the most prestigious management consulting firms in the world. It is one of only three companies to appear in the top 15 of Fortunes "Best Companies to Work For" report for...
- McKinsey & CompanyMcKinsey & CompanyMcKinsey & Company, Inc. is a global management consulting firm that focuses on solving issues of concern to senior management. McKinsey serves as an adviser to many businesses, governments, and institutions...
Note: while these firms are known rather undisputedly as the top strategy consulting firms, some contended that such firms as A.T. Kearney
A.T. Kearney
A.T. Kearney is a global management consulting firm, focusing on strategic and operational CEO-agenda concerns. It was founded in 1926, and its head office is in Chicago, Illinois...
, Booz & Company
Booz & Company
Booz & Company is a global management consulting firm established in the United States in 1914. It is recognized as one of the most prestigious management consulting firms in the world and one of the best consulting firms to work for by Consulting Magazine...
, Arthur D. Little
Arthur D. Little
Arthur D. Little is an international management consulting firm originally headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and formally incorporated by that name in 1909 by Arthur Dehon Little, an MIT chemist who had discovered acetate. Arthur D. Little pioneered the concept of contracted...
, and Monitor Group
Monitor Group
Monitor Group is a global management consulting firm headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States and with 27 offices in 26 major cities around the world. It provides strategy consultation services to the senior management of organizations and governments...
should also be considered white shoe. Rankings of these firms in Vault and Consulting Magazine varied from year to year, but they have never dethroned the top firms in overall rankings.
Other uses of the term
A similar term in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, "white shoe brigade", has been used in the past to describe a group of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
property developers who backed, and benefitted from, former Queensland State Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Sir Johannes "Joh" Bjelke-Petersen, KCMG , was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived Premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, a period that saw considerable economic development in the state...
. The term is a contemptuous allusion to the lower social class antecedents of such men, revealed by their gaudy and tasteless choice of clothing, which included brightly coloured or patterned shirts, slacks with white stripes or in pastel shades, and shoes and belts of white leather, these often having gold or gilt buckles. A strong-smelling aftershave
Aftershave
Aftershave describes a lotion, gel, balm, powder, or liquid used mainly by men after they have finished shaving. It may contain an antiseptic agent such as denatured alcohol or stearate citrate to prevent infection of cuts...
was often worn, as well. They became known for shady deals with the government concerning property development, often with dire consequences for heritage buildings.
Related phrases
- Magic circleMagic 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:...
, seen as the five (or six) top law firms in the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe 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...
; also used to describe the top four Commercial ChambersChambers (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 - Global Quartet or Big Four, referring to members of the Magic CircleMagic 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:...
other than Slaughter and MaySlaughter and MaySlaughter and May is an international law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom and a member of the 'Magic Circle' of leading UK law firms. It also has offices in Beijing, Brussels and Hong Kong....
as it has not, in general, pursued a policy of international expansion - Seven Sisters, referring to the seven CanadianCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
law firms considered to be the top tier - Big Six, referring to six AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n law firms perceived to be the top tier - Big Three, referring to three Texas law firms considered to be the top tier
- Big FiveBig 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 law firms in South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans... - MBBMBBMBB may refer to:* Magandang Balita Biblia, a Tagalog translation of the Holy Bible* Make-before-break, a type of contact arrangement of an electrical switch, which ensures that when a switch transition happens, the new contact is always made before the old one is broken* Malayan Banking Berhad, a...
, referring to the three most prestigious management consulting firms worldwide (McKinsey & CompanyMcKinsey & CompanyMcKinsey & Company, Inc. is a global management consulting firm that focuses on solving issues of concern to senior management. McKinsey serves as an adviser to many businesses, governments, and institutions...
, Boston Consulting GroupBoston Consulting GroupThe Boston Consulting Group is a global management consulting firm with offices in 42 countries. It is recognized as one of the most prestigious management consulting firms in the world. It is one of only three companies to appear in the top 15 of Fortunes "Best Companies to Work For" report for...
, and Bain & CompanyBain & CompanyBain & Company is a global management consulting firm headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Bain is considered one of the most prestigious consulting firms in the world, with 47 offices in 30 countries and over 5,500 professionals on staff globally...
)
External links
- Etymology, de novo Blog, December 18, 2004
- Origin of phrase, Phrase Finder forum, June 25, 2005