SULLIVAN & Cromwell fell by one place in The Global 10rankings last year, managing just a 5 per cent increase in total revenue. Turnover rose from $833m (£457.6m) to $875m (£480.8m) in 2005.

The firm’s PEP was, of course, hugely impressive, with Sullivan partners averaging $2.4m (£1.32m). But this represented an even smaller rise, just 2.5 per cent, on the year before.

In 2004 Sullivan was second only to the marketbusting Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz in the PEP table. In 2005 it lagged behind Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft and Cravath Swaine & Moore, as well of course as Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.

The 2006 financial year may prove to be more remunerative for Sullivan. In August it dislodged Simpson Thacher & Bartlett at the top of the US M&A rankings, racking up a total deal value of $317.95bn (£174.7bn) for the first half of 2006.

Its performance was helped by a succcession of major deals, including the mammoth $67bn (£36.81bn) merger between US telecom companies AT&T and BellSouth, on which it advised AT&T. Sullivan also won a trio of multibillion-dollar deals on consecutive days in the first week of May 2006, including advising Wachovia on its $25.5bn (£14.01bn) acquisition of Golden West Financial, a deal led by presiding partner Rodgin Cohen.

Internationally Sullivan broke its own particular mould in 2006 when it made a rare lateral hire. Former Allen & Overy corporate partner Vanessa Blackmore joined Sullivan in the summer to launch an English law corporate practice.

Sullivan’s standout corporate and securities practice in China, headed by star partner Chun Wei, continued to perform well. Currently the firm has offices in Beijing and Hong Kong, although as first reported in The Lawyer (16 October 2006), Shanghai is not off the radar screen.