Star practices/peopleThe closest to a Slaughter and May equivalent in the US, blueblood Cravath’s focus is on quality not quantity. The firm deserves its inclusion in the Sweet Sixteen for its transactional practice alone (where bedr…
Star practices/peopleWeil Gotshal & Manges has earned its place in the Sweet Sixteen by building a leading private equity practice in London and New York as well as maintaining its reputation in restructuring and bankruptcy in the US. In New York Weil is well known for its traditional strength in bankruptcy. Although the co-head of […]
Star practices/peopleWith just one office and 200 lawyers, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz is the odd one out among the Sweet Sixteen. But by sheer force of will the firm has maintained its position as home to the pre-eminent domestic US M&A practice. “You don’t have to be in every country to be successful,” argues […]
Star practices/peopleSullivan & Cromwell was founded on the premise of securing involvement in the world’s top deals, an ambition helped immeasurably by it long being Goldman Sachs’s law firm of choice. In 2007 Sullivan achieved its ambition in spades. Number one in the 2007 global and US M&A tables on value, Sullivan also snared lead […]
Star practices/peopleThink Slaughter and May, think corporate. Think Slaughters corporate, think Nigel Boardman, Chris Saul, Frances Murphy, William Underhill, Steve Cooke… The firm’s corporate practice accounts for around half of total revenue and is a top-notch department in a first-class firm. Slaughters is undoubtedly the best connected of all the City players and acts for […]
Star practices/peopleSkadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom is the ultimate M&A machine. In comparison with, say, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Skadden is focused more on corporates than private equity firms, but its ranks of corporate relationships and extensive office coverage across the US, Europe and Asia mean it is as well positioned for global deals […]
Star practices/peopleThe foundations of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s recent success are built on its rock-solid relationships with key Fortune 100 companies plus, of course, private equity giants Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and the Blackstone Group. Being the go-to firm for these titans has enabled the firm to maintain its position as the world’s undisputed number […]
Star practices/peopleThe 200-partner corporate group is the central nervous system at Linklaters. It has grown to epic proportions since the firm’s pioneering attitude on the 1999 hostile bid for Mannesmann by Vodafone. The deal marked the firm’s global expansion into M&A. Linklaters has an excellent FTSE100 client base, acting for 19 of the UK’s largest […]
Star practices/peopleThe 200-partner corporate group is the central nervous system at Linklaters. It has grown to epic proportions since the firm’s pioneering attitude on the 1999 hostile bid for Mannesmann by Vodafone. The deal marked the firm’s global expansion into M&A. Linklaters has an excellent FTSE100 client base, acting for 19 of the UK’s largest […]
Star practices/peopleLatham & Watkins, once happy to be known as a West Coast firm, is now one of the most significant firms in New York and, indeed, the world. There are still some on Wall Street who dispute this, but Latham, originally propelled by its strength in high-yield, has arrived. Finance has long been the […]
Star practices/peopleKirkland & Ellis is the sole Chicago-headquartered firm to make it into the Sweet Sixteen. Known as a brutally tough private equity machine, its clients include Bain, Apax, CCMP Capital, CVC and TowerBrook Capital….
Star practices/peopleWith a raft of names such as former corporate head Tim Jones, his successor Mark Rawlinson, Will Lawes, Ed Braham and David Higgins on the department’s roster, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is all but guaranteed…