Slaughter and May has defied critics to withstand the initial globalisation of Western markets. Now all eyes are on whether the elite boutique can prosper in the key emerging economies. Claire Ruckin and Suzanna Ring report

Thirteen years after the firm moved to first publicly articulate its global outlook, the international strategy of Slaughter and May continues to spark intense debate among the upper reaches of the global legal market.

Shunning the committed international expansion of its magic circle rivals in the 1990s, Slaughters, under then senior partner Giles Henderson, outlined a vision of elite independent law firms co-operating globally in a cover feature for Commercial Lawyer. Though the phrase was never used, it was the system that came to be widely known, somewhat incongruously, as 'best friends', a model built around a core of allied firms in Europe.

Slaughters' key London rivals have, of course, bet that this approach will fail, while many top-tier independents around the world are hoping it will succeed. But the intervening years – despite two M&A booms in Europe, huge globalisation in legal services, the launch of the euro and the worst recession since World War II – have as yet provided no conclusive answer.

Now Slaughters and its iconoclastic global strategy faces a new challenge, possibly the greatest the firm has faced since its launch in 1889 – the rise of the so-called BRIC economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The huge rise in influence of these countries – and a string of other emerging markets – obviously has huge implications for Slaughters at a time when Western economies are wrestling with slow growth and the legacy of the banking crisis.

Slaughters' attempts to secure a meaningful presence in these vast new markets also promises to revive much of the competitive jousting among leading City law firms in Western Europe of a decade ago, but with a much-changed dynamic.

However, the firm remains resolute in its strategy. Ask any Slaughters partner whether the firm's international model is transportable into new markets and from management down to junior partner the answer remains an unequivocal "yes".

The firm's conviction is just as well. Its success or failure in this new theatre is likely to confirm whether it can sustain its position as a top global player in the legal market. It may also settle once and for all the argument over whether the boutique model still has a place in the top end of global law.

New fields of battle

The first observation to make about Slaughters' strategy for emerging economies is that it is applying very different tactics in different markets.

In particular, Slaughters has been far less focused on Russia in recent years than its peers, regarding the country's economy as a volatile market that the firm's partners variously describe as "not particularly easy" or "a handful".

With Slaughters uneasy about cultural and reputational issues in the jurisdiction, it has largely focused on advising its domestic clients operating in the country rather than actively cultivating a local client base.

Nevertheless, the firm has established referral links to several local firms, in particular Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners and ALRUD. Key relationship partners for the country include Slaughters energy partner Steven Galbraith, competition partner Claire Jeffs and corporate partner Andrew Jolly (Slaughters has, in recent years, increasingly assigned country-specific briefs to individual partners).

Slaughters has also bucked the trend in the Middle East by eschewing building up its local profile to instead mine the rich seam of oil-backed acquirers picking up assets in the UK.

The fast-expanding Latin American market also remains – in relative terms – a secondary point of focus. Currently, Slaughters' Latin American activity is largely funnelled through links with its Spanish ally Uria Menendez. Using Uria's formal network in the region, Slaughters works with firms including Marval O'Farrell & Mairal (Argentina); Philippi Yrarrazaval Pulido & Brunner (Chile); Galicia & Robles (Mexico); and Payet Rey Cauvi (Peru). In Brazil, by far the most significant market in the region, Uria launched a branch in Sao Paulo in 1998 and maintains an association with the firm Dias Carneiro.

In addition, Slaughters has also worked regularly with two of the most-touted of the emerging band of top-tier Brazilian firms: Pinheiro Neto and Tozzini Freire Teixeira & Silva, with Pinheiro touted as a more formal relationship for the future.

Africa has also attracted more attention from the firm in recent years, with Slaughters acting for a number of its core multinational clients in the region. Slaughters has partly targeted the continent via referral relationships in South Africa with local firms including Bowman Gilfillan and Werksmans. Partners with responsibilities for Africa include Galbraith, corporate partners David Watkins and Craig Cleaver and disputes partner Nick Archer.

The firm's celebrated corporate rainmaker Nigel Boardman has, in addition, long taken an interest in the region. Boardman is the only English lawyer to currently sit on the South African Government's International Advisory Panel for reforming corporate law in the region. He works regularly in Botswana in relation to the nickel, diamond, soda ash and coal markets and has also advised the national Government for a number of years.

But despite expanding its horizons into emerging markets, there is little doubt where the firm's key priorities lay. China and India are the two countries that cast a huge shadow over the firm's efforts and are, without doubt, the jurisdictions in which it is most intent on securing a strong position.

Slaughters practice partner Paul Olney (pictured) comments: "We are very conscious that emerging markets are an important part of the future and will play a crucial part in what we do going forward. Of the key emerging markets, our focus is likely to be mainly on China and India."

The shift in focus towards Asia is partly attested to by the fact that Slaughters – which has, in recent years, closed branches in New York and Paris – now maintains by far its largest foreign office in Hong Kong.

Having been in Hong Kong since 1974, the firm has eight partners and 32 associates in the office, which acts as a hub for its activities in the wider Asia region. And despite Slaughters' much-discussed focus on UK law, the firm has practised Hong Kong law in the region for years.

After initially focusing largely on securities work in Hong Kong, often for underwriters, the practice has broadened in recent years, both by taking on more corporate clients and becoming more of a bridgehead for the wider region. In a significant development for the firm, Slaughters last year launched in mainland China with an office in Beijing, led by partner George Goulding.

The goal of the practice is two-fold – to help the firm maintain and build relationships with China's fast-growing band of domestic law firms and to build links with the country's coveted state-owned enterprises.

Even merely building referral links in a market changing as quickly as China is a challenge, as is keeping up with the meteoric growth rate of its leading law firms. Jun He is by consensus Slaughters' closest relationship. Other firms Slaughters has worked with regularly include Fangda Partners on M&A and Haiwen & Partners for securities work.

The City-based Slaughters partners working regularly on China-related matters include corporate partners Peter Brien and Ian Hodgson and finance partner Miranda Leung. It may surprise some to know that King & Wood, a leading local practice which has historically been compared to Slaughters, is notably absent from the law firm's referral partners – one Slaughters partner refers to the China firm as "the elephant in the room".

A notable difference rarely grasped outside of the firm is that its Hong Kong base is a different creature to the foreign offices the firm has previously built. While its foreign offices have generally operated as liaison offices to service its UK base, Hong Kong has a centre of gravity of its own.

In essence, the firm is clear in its analysis that Hong Kong is emerging as one of three dominant international financial centres, alongside London and New York. With a re-entry into New York discounted, Slaughters is currently, if cautiously, moving to construct a credible presence in Hong Kong – both as a finance centre and as its own hub for Asia. Indeed, when discussing its Asia strategy the firm raises the possibility that the Beijing arm – which acts as a liaison office to Hong Kong – could go the way of its branches in New York or Frankfurt if it ceases to outlive its usefulness to its parent.

As Olney puts it: "While other Asian centres will undoubtedly develop, Hong Kong is – and is likely to remain – the hub of our Asian practice. We are very confident of its continuing success."

With the Hong Kong base now covering corporate, securities, banking, competition, litigation and property, Slaughters is regarded by most to have built a very credible presence in the region.

In particular, the firm is strongly regarded for high-end corporate and securities work, with respected partners such as Neil Hyman and Benita Yu helping the firm to secure a reputation as a top-tier player for Hong Kong transactional work, even if it can not match the volumes achieved by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer or Linklaters.

Clients that the firm has advised on major corporate finance work in China include Alibaba.com, China International Capital Corporation (CICC), Diageo, HSBC, Prudential, Moody's, TPG Capital, CITIC Group and Swire Properties. In the key equity capital markets sphere, the firm has advised Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Credit Suisse, CICC and Metallurgical Corporation of China.

Yet if China has proved fertile hunting ground for Slaughters, India, its other major quarry, has proved more problematic. Despite the country's ultra-restrictive Bar rules, which should in theory play well to Slaughters' model, by its own admission the firm has yet to achieve a comparable profile to its efforts in China.

This has left Clifford Chance (CC), Linklaters and Herbert Smith to make the early running in one of the most coveted international markets. Slaughters believes that it was relatively late to focus on the jurisdiction but has pledged to make up for lost ground.

Indeed, senior Indian lawyers agree that Slaughters – while enjoying strong brand recognition – has failed to win much Indian-related securities work.

One senior partner at a top-tier Indian practice comments: "It depends how hungry the firm is as to how successful it is in India. People are dropping rates to compete for work, but Slaughters is not one of the firms doing this, and this may contribute to a lack of visibility."

However, the firm does have established referral links in the country, in particular with Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co, the thrusting and expansive law firm widely regarded as India's leading corporate practice. In addition, Slaughters has fostered relationships with Amarchand split-off Bharucha & Partners as well as Luthra & Luthra, J Sagar Associates and Desai & Diwanji.

Slaughters commercial partner Simon Hall, corporate partners Simon Nicholls, Nilufer von Bismarck and Robin Ogle and disputes partner Archer are part of a core team fostering the firm's development in this jurisdiction.

Still, many in the local market remain unconvinced that the firm is making process. One partner at India's AZB & Partners comments: "We have seen foreign law firms gain visibility in the market through making presentations to clients and hiring graduates from law schools in India. I'm not aware that Slaughters has done this."

Even a senior partner at Amarchand argues that Slaughters is "not as active as other firms," before adding: "Linklaters is the most active UK firm in India. Slaughters might change this, but today they are not that visible."

And, perhaps worryingly, while many see Amarchand as Slaughters' natural 'best friend' in the country, the firm itself gives rather ambivalent signals about its relationship, with one senior partner at the firm questioning whether it is in the interests of Indian law firms to have defined referral ties with any foreign firm.

However, senior partner Chris Saul (pictured) comments: "We are very focused on India and naturally see it as an important market in the long term. It is an area where we are keen to keep building our profile."

Chances for victory

For all the bravado of its globally expansive rivals, it is apparent that the relative resilience of Slaughters during a 20-year period that has seen huge increases in economic and legal globalisation has made many rivals less inclined to resort to knee-jerk rejections of the boutique model.

As one magic circle partner dryly observes: "Ever since I was in short trousers people have expressed concerns over whether the Slaughters model will survive in a globalised market, but so far, so good. Who knows what the future holds?"

The firm has been aided by the inability of international law firms to secure much in the way of access to key target markets like India, Brazil and, to a lesser extent, China. This is less of an advantage in China, where Bar rules are generally enforced very laxly, but in theory should give Slaughters a chance to close ground in markets like India, especially if it can get fiercely independent local firms to deliberately favour it as an alternative to the greater competitive threat of the big four.

Perhaps surprisingly, a considerable number of Slaughters' City rivals can see scope for this approach. Herbert Smith Asia head Ashley Alder comments: "It is likely that best friend relationships will become more important in those developing economies where an international firm is barred from practising local law, such as Africa, China and parts of South America, and they will be an important aspect of delivering legal services to the highest standard to multinational clients of the international firm."

It is also apparent that Slaughters has succeeded to a considerable extent in the crucial task of translating its brand to the wider Asian market, even in areas in which it is yet to handle substantial amounts of work.

As one corporate partner at a leading Chinese firm comments: "Slaughters is viewed as a prestigious firm by the market and holds resonance within Chinese firms. By adopting Slaughters' model you don't pretend you are the best at everything and show that you want the best for your clients."

Yet, as the firm acknowledges, there are very considerable challenges for Slaughters in adapting the best friends model to the emerging economies. For one, the concept was formed by the particular forces shaping pan-European consolidation in the late 1990s. It was also partly made possible by the relatively small size of the national European legal markets, meaning there was often a single dominant independent law firm with which Slaughters could build its relationship with. Likewise, these independents in Europe faced UK and US invaders breathing down their necks, which gave them a strong motive to seek an alignment with Slaughters or risk irrelevance or takeover.

This is in stark contrast to the large, volatile and fast-evolving markets of China, India and Brazil, which are all seeing huge growth for their domestic legal champions. Likewise, the relative protection afforded to national firms means they hold far more leverage in any relationship with foreign firms – Slaughters included.

The awkward truth is that many domestic firms support referral models as far as that they stop foreign firms competing directly. Senior lawyers in China and India are far less supportive of the best friends concept when the question turns to whether they would narrow down their referrals.

As one King & Wood partner comments: "China operates very much on an 'eat what you kill' basis and it is really a nation of barristers, so it's very hard to develop the collegiality with a firm that you need for a best friend network."

One managing partner with a top-tier India practice says: "The fact that foreign law firms have now firmly been ruled against practising law in India has changed the dynamics of their relationships. Foreign firms are keen to tighten relationships, but local firms want to remain very clearly independent. A best friend relationship is counter-productive, you need to spread yourself across the market."

An uncomfortable realisation for Slaughters is that there is little doubt that some of the firms with which it would like to cultivate relationships in Asia are waiting to see if the firm – or one of its more global rivals – will finally emerge as the horse to back.

Olney (pictured) acknowledges how quickly these markets are shifting: "We see a need on both sides to maintain a degree of plurality. With the growth and changes in the legal markets in some countries we have to keep in contact with more than one firm and, conversely, these firms will of course be dealing with people other than us."

There are other considerable issues the firm will have to wrestle with. There is mounting evidence that clients in China and India struggle to understand the more ambiguous nature of concepts like Slaughters' referral arrangements. There has been evidence that this issue is increasingly concerning Herbert Smith, even though its three-way alliance with Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe is considerably more clearly defined than Slaughters' referral ties.

The hope for Slaughters is that it can repeat the trick it performed in Europe, where to a considerable extent it managed to convince an initially sceptical corporate client base of the viability of its model. But this is likely to be a harder act to repeat in these vast and rapidly developing markets.

A partner at King & Wood comments: "The best friend approach reeks of the Slaughters lexicon, but China is not the same animal as Europe."

In addition, Slaughters could, in future, be increasingly constrained by its relatively modest resources. At less than a third of the size of its big four City rivals, the 126-partner firm has less resources – partly financial but more importantly in terms of human capital – to expend on strategically important markets. With practices in Asia increasingly dominated by locally-born lawyers, Slaughters could struggle to recruit enough lawyers.

CC litigation head Jeremy Sandelson echoes the sentiments of many by arguing that sheer scale will be a major advantage in helping international firms crack Asia. He comments: "Magic circle firms have the brand and the resources to allow them to open up offices in emerging and other markets, looking to the long term without having to generate a high level of profits straight away."

But perhaps the biggest concern facing Slaughters' attempts to reposition itself for the rise of emerging markets is that much of its success or failure will probably be settled by forces outside its own control.

In some respects the firm's resilience to the globalisation of law has been fortunate. The last 15 years have seen English law as a tool for global corporate finance go from strength to strength. Likewise, it is now often forgotten that the rise of London as a financial centre over the same period has confounded most predictions – unquestionably establishing London as the dominant centre in its timezone, and arguably the world.

Both trends have provided a huge boost to Slaughters. Saul makes no bones in conceding this point: "English law has proved to be a robust and flexible tool for international commerce. Contracting parties in many jurisdictions have been drawn to it and this has, of course, been helpful to our practice."

Saul also admits that the firm's strategy is based on the prediction that London will retain a very strong position globally, a contention that some would see as a gamble. He says: "The London capital markets have been resilient over the years. We believe that there may be some movement of capital raising from London to Hong Kong, given the increasing liquidity pool in Asia, but we do not expect a significant decline in business for the City. Our analysis is that it is likely to continue to be the leading financial and capital-raising centre in this timezone."

Even if London can maintain its relative position in the global financial hierarchy, the rise of finance centres in Asia suggests Slaughters is less likely to be supported by favourable winds in the medium term. The next 20 years could be considerably more challenging for the firm's structure given shifting external market forces.

Road to Constantinople

Despite the firm's at times strained attempts to cultivate an image of timeless permanence, on closer inspection it is clear that Slaughters' international strategy has shifted and evolved a number of times to deal with changes in the global economy (See box, page 10).

Olney comments: "Our international strategy is flexible to deal with changes in what can be quite fluid markets. This is reflected in our willingness to open and close offices to take account of change – but we avoid short-term decisions."

It appears likely that the firm is now tilting towards a future in which it will be increasingly built around two major power centres in London and Hong Kong and a two-strand focus on English and Hong Kong law. This is a considerable shift from a hub-and-spoke model that many still associate with the firm. Such a move could also ultimately start to impact on the culture of the institution, even though the UK practice will obviously remain by far the largest part of its practice.

When pressed on how Hong Kong and Asia will develop, one Slaughters partner draws a humorous yet somewhat nervous reference to the firm beginning to echo Rome and Constantinople in creating two rival power centres jostling for position (though there is no suggestion Slaughters has historically faced tensions between London and Hong Kong).

Inevitably, Slaughters' Asia practice will also have to face up to competition in a market in which it holds a less commanding position and will be more vulnerable. It remains a significant factor of the Slaughters brand that it has never lost a partner to a rival firm in the UK – if it can maintain the same trick in Asia over the next 20 years, it will certainly be something worth celebrating.

A major strategic reverse in Asia could do huge damage to the firm in a way that is unimaginable in the UK. As mentioned, it would also test the firm's resources and organisational abilities. Slaughters currently has three Mandarin-speaking partners – how long until its rivals have 30?

The real test for the firm will probably not come over the next five or even 10 years. The challenge will come when it is faced with huge Asian networks of international rivals at a point when they have polished up their cross-office service, as has happened in Europe.

Slaughters will also have to deal with the fact that even the leading Wall Street firms that have been a useful source of referrals over the years look set to move into Hong Kong law – as evidenced by the much-touted local law launch of Davis Polk & Wardwell this year.

Yet it remains to the credit of the firm the extent to which it continues to defy its critics. Beneath the cultivated mystique of permanence there is a well-concealed seam of pragmatism and flexibility that has served the firm consistently. Slaughters also looks astute in accepting its limitations and hence focusing its efforts on a few key emerging economies – even if its failure to yet build a profile in India is a flaw that it will need to quickly correct.

By Slaughters' own yardstick, its success will require it to sustain a commanding position in two out of three of the world's key finance centres. More than that, it will probably need London to retain its status in the global economy and for Slaughters to retain its hard-won reputation as the City's top corporate adviser. This is a huge feat and one that will require a sizeable measure of good fortune. If the protectionism and rapid emergence of powerful national law firms in China and India become a dynamic Slaughters can harness, its global reputation looks assured. If not, it is hard to see how the firm will not be greatly diminished on the global stage.

Can it work? The truth is that few – including Slaughters – really know. Feeling you have a fighting chance is not the same as feeling assured of victory. As one veteran partner at Cravath Swaine & Moore, a Wall Street firm often compared to Slaughters, comments: "The jury is still out as to the success of Slaughters' model. It works very well in the developed markets, but I honestly don't know if it will work in the emerging markets too."

Yet for all the challenges facing the firm, it is striking that many rivals are giving the firm better odds of success in the emerging economies than they did for the Western economies a decade ago. That considerable achievement must give the firm – and the world's leading boutiques – some confidence for the future.

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Brick-by-Bric: headline deals for Slaughter and May in emerging economies

China

June 2009 – Advised power generator China Power International Development on its acquisition of a controlling stake in Wu Ling Power from its controlling shareholder, China Power Investment Corporation, for $650m (£414m). Led by capital markets partner Benita Yu, the firm acted alongside local firm Haiwen & Partners.

September 2009 – Advised Metallurgical Corporation of China, a state-owned equipment manufacturer, on its $5.2bn (£3.3bn) offering of shares listing on both Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges, the world's second largest initial public offering (IPO), in 2009. Led by Yu, the firm's team worked alongside China practice JiaYuan.

2010 – Advised Prudential on its proposed acquisition of Asian life insurance company AIA for $35.5bn (£22.6bn), which would have created the largest life insurer in Southeast Asia. The transaction did not proceed due to a lack of support from Prudential's shareholders. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton advised on US law. Corporate partner William Underhill and M&A partner Padraig Cronin led on the deal alongside Jun He.

February 2010 – Advised Orient Overseas, an investment holding company, on its sale of its property subsidiary Orient Overseas Developments to Asian real estate company CapitaLand for $2.2bn (£1.4bn). Led by M&A partner Neil Hyman, the firm worked alongside Jun He.

July 2010 – Advised Burberry on the acquisition of 50 stores and related assets in China for £70m. M&A partners Hyman and Robert Chaplin led on the deal alongside Jun He.

India

September 2010 – Advised Tata Steel on the $3.5bn (£2.2bn) refinancing of its European debt in an outbound deal by an Indian company. Led by finance partners Andrew McClean and Andrew Balfour.

March 2010 – Advised Standard Chartered as international counsel on its $530m (£338m) public issue and listing of Indian depository receipts (IDRs) on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India – the first foreign company to list IDRs in India. Foreign firms are not allowed to list shares, but have been permitted to list IDRs for five years. Led by corporate partner Nilufer von Bismarck and capital markets partner Laurence Rudge, Slaughter and May worked alongside Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co.

Africa

August 2010 – Advised savings group Old Mutual on a proposal from HSBC to acquire its controlling stake of 52% in South African bank holding company Nedbank Group for at least £5bn. The transaction did not proceed due to HSBC's withdrawal of the offer. Corporate partners Glen James and Richard Smith led the deal alongside South Africa's Bowman Gilfillan.

South America

August 2010 – Advised oil and gas company Talisman Energy on the acquisition of a 49% stake in BP Exploration Company, the Colombian subsidiary of BP, for $1.9bn (£1.2bn). M&A partner Hywel Davies, finance partner Mark Dwyer and tax partner Tony Beare acted on the deal. Brigard & Urrutia, an informal referral partner of Uria Menendez, also advised Talisman.

September 2010 – Advised mining company Zamin Resources on the $735m (£468m) sale of its 50% stake in Brazilian iron ore holding company Bahia Minerals. Led by corporate and commercial partner Andy Ryde and tax partner Tony Beare. Brazilian firm Mattos Filho Veiga Filho Marrey Jr & Quiroga also advised Zamin.

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Ebb and flow – a short international history of Slaughter and May

"Being human, we have sat around thinking, 'God, is this right?' Are we the only ones marching in step?" So said then Slaughter and May senior partner Giles Henderson in a 1997 interview with Commercial Lawyer, in what would become one of the defining moments for the City leader's image.

The article, which was largely fuelled by the fear that the best graduates would reject the firm if it was seen to be narrowly domestic, is fascinating to read now. In many ways, it accurately predicts the changing dynamics of global law over the years to come, in others it now seems almost comical in the conceit of a world in which a select group of Englishmen can be at the centre of global deals.

The piece – which never uses the term 'best friends' – was part of a push by the firm to show that the firm had a coherent response to the global shift of the market. Yet in reality the firm's international strategy has never been as simple as the best friends tag suggests and has developed organically – haphazardly even – over the last 30 years as the firm responded to expected shifts in the market.

The firm launched its first foreign office in Paris in 1973, becoming one of only two branches in which it has practised foreign law. The other practice to handle local law was in Hong Kong, which opened the next year, making the firm one of the first UK entrants to the region.

A New York office opened in 1984 as part of a bid to build up its relationships in the US. Again belying its conservative image, in 1988 the firm opened in Tokyo to deal with an expected increase in work from the huge local economy and launched a branch in Brussels the following year to handle competition work. The firm then, in 1992, launched in Frankfurt in anticipation of more cross-border work in mainland Europe. In 1995 it expanded with a branch in Singapore, which was intended to service northern Asia while Hong Kong focused on the southern Asia region. This period was the most expansive in the firm's history and its strategy did not then hugely differ from its City rivals. It was to be the gradual emergence of the best friends model that saw Slaughters row back its international efforts.

Since 1997, the infrastructure and links between the firm's 'core' European best friends of Slaughters, Bredin Prat (France), Hengeler Mueller (Germany), Bonelli Erede Pappalardo (Italy) and Uria Menendez (Spain) have also grown substantially. Despite clear indications that the grouping differs somewhat on the need for co-operation and evidence that it was struggling to keep pace with the integrated networks of the big four City firms during the peak of the credit boom, by consensus the network has worked better than many expected.

The building up of Slaughters' referral links also directly led to a series of office closures as these liaison branches outlived their usefulness. That saw Frankfurt close in 1995 and the bulk of the French law team transfer in 2005 to Bredin Prat (The firm's 12-lawyer Brussels arm, which is entirely focused on its highly-regarded competition practice, looks safe from such retrenchment).

Likewise, the expansion of US firms in London meant the firm's referral relationships with Wall Street firms were being increasingly run out of the City, leading to the closure of its Manhattan branch in 2004. The failure of Tokyo and Singapore to build Asia-wide influence as business and finance centres saw these close in 1995 and 2004 respectively.

With Hong Kong building a significant reputation in high-end corporate and securities work over the last 20 years, the next office launch came in 2009 with a three-lawyer branch in Beijing, which is aimed at supporting Hong Kong. Despite the fact that the firm has no plans for further office launches, it seems certain that its fluid international network will continue to evolve.

• For more, see Friends and influence – luck and pragmatism are Slaughters' best friends in Asia