abbey has handed slaughters several lucrative instructionsSlaughter and May faces a high-profile contest with Clifford Chance (CC) to keep hold of key client Abbey after it was announced this week that the bank is to be subject to a £8.5bn takeover by Spanish bank Santander Central Hispano.

Slaughters is advising Abbey on the merger, Europe’s largest ever cross-border retail banking deal, while CC is advising Santander.