What the magic circle will soon look like
With Allen & Overy (A&O) becoming the latest of the big four to announce a restructuring, it is becoming increasingly clear that the magic circle is again evolving. Essentially, the group is moving further away from the 2000-era scale that was the result of a series of international mergers towards a leaner, though no less international incarnation. This process was already in train long before the words ‘credit’ and ‘crunch’ became depressingly common. Linklaters took its first steps down this path way back in the post-dotcom gloom. Clifford Chance (CC) began moving in earnest in this direction, with the dismantling of the firm’s ill-fated Californian venture. And Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer went through a comprehensive partnership restructuring in 2006, wisely while the market was still booming.
