Two thirds of Slaughter and May’s partners were educated at the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge and about half were privately educated, according to Legal Week research that lays bare the dominance of that background across the top echelons of the Magic Circle.

Across all five elite firms – Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters and Slaughters – nearly 50% of the 804 London partners hailed from one of the two elite universities, based on data compiled from partners’ website biographies, legal directories and LinkedIn profiles, as well as alma mater resources.