Gold League Firms

Its been a while since my last post. You know, things get busy...

Ok, so in preparation for posting Nigeria's Gold league law firm, below is an earlier post introducing them. I'll post the firms the next few posts...

In different countries they go by different names - Magic Circle, White Shoe Firms, Seven Sisters, Big Five etc. A monicker to describe a select group that is a class apart. And, in this sense, class is the operative word. An elite group that distinguishes itsellf by the strictest, though unofficial, membership requirements that (even in a country with our history) is earned and not bought. In the legal professions of most countries, these groups appear to have emerged from their peers almost naturally and with that most 'noble' desire to be exclusive. In the United States, the term White Shoe Law Firm was reserved for firms with a long tradition (100 years or more) and (unfortunately) that met the WASP requirement (White Anglo Saxon Protestant).  The initial members of the club were firms like Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley and McCloy. As with most things American, times changed and the term later referred to big, old, east-coast and fairly traditional firms, thereby admitting Jewish and other ethnic nationalities to the fold (Remember this is not an official group but merely an understanding among peers). 

In the very conservative United Kingdom, land where first among equals holds sway a la Queens Counsel and where the "poshness" of your spoken English sets you apart from the mass of humanity, the club took a more restrictive tone.  4 firms initially emerged - The Magic Circle. To be fair, a rational method is used to determine who belongs in the circle - earnings per partner and earnings per lawyer etc ... but, of course, prestige, schools attended by lawyers and so on provide a subtle subtext. The firms initially were - Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters. The circle is continuously evolving and now  Slaughters & May, I hear, is a new entrant. 

Now to Nigeria. Our biggest firms are generally yet  to acheive the institutional form of their counterparts described above, so it really is still an open field. Yet, some have emerged over a 2 - 3 decade period as leaders. The biggest question (other than what to call our group) in a country with awful statistcs and high level secrecy among many firm partners, is how do we measure our own exclusive club?  Our criteria is straightforward and firms meets each criteria to varying degrees - first, firm revenue; second, visibility (locally and internationally ...); third, a balanced practice (this requirement surpisingly is one of the hardest for our firms to keep up with), and finally, firm structure (another achilles heel). Perception is key, as this unofficial list is backed by a straw poll of lawyers. Well, who are our leading firms? Before I let you in on it, its sufficient to say that all that make the cut are truly writing their names in gold while fiercely competing for each other's business hence the name - the Gold League.  Read about Nigeria's Gold League in subsequent posts.