Open thread: What is it like to work in the magic circle?

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By Legal Cheek on

Share your experiences below the line

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For aspiring corporate lawyers across the country, it doesn’t get much better than a career at the magic circle.

Law students can’t help but be enticed by the mystery surrounding old school stalwart Slaughter and May, or the equally prestigious international giant Clifford Chance, which even has its own swimming pool. Then there’s Anglo-German heavyweight Freshfields, a law firm complete with staff perks to impress even the choosiest of lawyers.

The big five is rounded off by Allen & Overy, whose co-founder famously advised King Edward VIII during the abdication crisis of 1936, and Barbican-based Linklaters — a global megafirm with a reputation that’s hard to rival.

Though the prestige is unquestionable, it can sometimes be hard to cut through the graduate recruitment guff and find out what it’s really like to work in the magic circle.

That’s why we’re inviting trainees and solicitors to share their experiences, anecdotes and opinions of life at the top of the City law food chain. You can throw in your two cents in the one and only Legal Cheek comments section below.