P&OSlaughter and May has worked its ‘best friends’ relationship with US firm Davis Polk & Wardwell to lucrative effect by winning its first instruction from Royal Caribbean on its ground-breaking $6bn (£4.2bn) merger with P&O Princess Cruises.

Royal Caribbean is a long-standing client of Davis Polk rainmaker Jack McCarthy who brought Slaughters in as lead UK counsel on the deal when the transaction began in earnest two months ago.