Slaughter and May is one of the longest-established and most prominent Magic Circle law firms in the United Kingdom. The firm has an influential global presence, and has over the years built a reputation for providing high quality legal services.Their clients range from major institutions, corporations and government bodies to individuals and smaller companies. The company has offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Brussels and other major cities alongside its main building in Islington, London.

Slaughter and May does not specialise in any specific area of law, but rather the firm has leading practitioners in areas including Mergers and Acquisitions, Financing, Tax, Corporate and Commercial, Pensions, Real Estate and Employment. A large portion of the firm’s reputation and value is owed to their ability to navigate the future implications of decisions, past simply working to the letter of the law. The international reach of the firm, combined with their expertise in major jurisdictions, allows Slaughter and May to assist clients with global operations and multinational transactions.

Beyond legal advice and counsel, Slaughter and May as an institution is committed to a policy of Diversity and Inclusion. This includes:

embracing and cultivating an inclusive culture
championing individuality
focusing on fairness for women and under-represented groups within the firm and across their stakeholders
Providing a variety of training programs aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of issues surrounding diversity and inclusion.

unconscious bias training
inclusive leadership development
workshops focused on creating a more inclusive and respectful work environment

Slaughter and May holds a variety of different access and early careers events for high achieving students with aspirations of breaking into the world of law. Young aspiring lawyers can engage with the firm from as early as sixth form with their two Year 12-13 insight and work experience opportunities.

● Lead into Law - a two-year talent development programme for year 12 and 13 students interested in becoming a solicitor. The programme is run in partnership with diversity specialists Rare Recruitment

● Excellerators - a virtual work insight programme which gives students across the UK the chance to gain an insight into working life at Slaughter and May as well as essential employability skills through interactive workshops, hands-on tasks and networking sessions

Slaughter and May also host a number of schemes for university students who are more sure about their future careers. The schemes aim to provide a broad scope of the potential areas of work within the firm, getting attendees more accustomed to Slaughter and May’s ethos and working environment.

● Spring Forward Programme - Slaughter and May’s Spring Forward Programme is targeted towards first-year law students (and second year students on a four-year law degree) from lower socio-economic or ethnic minority backgrounds. The programme aims to develop attendees’ understanding of the work and culture of the firm and to provide information and experience for when they make decisions about applying for summer work experience schemes and training contracts in their penultimate year at university

● Summer Work Experience Scheme - The Summer Work Experience Scheme is a paid vacation scheme during which penultimate-year students get involved in legal work and conduct hands-on legal research. They will take part in training, workshops and interactive case studies. There are also social activities arranged to give interns opportunities to talk with partners, associates and trainees outside the office.

For more information on Early Careers at Slaughter and May, see their webpage on Work Experience Opportunities.

Alongside sponsoring the Oxford Afro-Caribbean Society, Slaughter and May are also partnered with Rare Recruitment’s Law Articles programme, which aims to provide opportunities for high-achieving Black students at top corporate firms within the UK.

Slaughter And May