Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

While Simpson Thacher & Bartlett's 2012 financial results have not been released at the time of writing, the US firm's role on a number of headline deals last year point to a stellar 12 months.

One such deal saw the firm snap up roles advising on the Carlyle Group’s acquisition of Getty Images from US private equity rival Hellman & Friedman in August 2012. Simpson Thacher advised both Getty Images and Hellman & Friedman, with the team including Palo Alto partners Chad Skinner (corporate), Katharine Moir (tax),Tristan Brown (employee benefits), Bill Brentani (credit) and New York credit partner Brian Steinhardt.

Meanwhile, 2012 broke all records for mentions of the acronym ‘IPO’ in Facebook statuses after the social media giant finally filed documents for its long-awaited stock exchange debut. Simpson Thacher acted for the underwriters, which included Morgan Stanley as lead bank, JPMorgan in second position and Goldman Sachs in third, with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital and Allen & Company also on the roster.

London revenue in 2011 stood at $55.60m, an increase of five per cent on the previous year.