United States > Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings > Law firm and leading lawyer rankings

The editorial for this section is in alphabetical, as opposed to ranking, order, due to two ranking tables.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is well known for advising issuers, including private equity funds and their portfolio companies, on debt transactions, with notable strength in the energy and natural resources areas. Recent highlights include Houston office managing partner Christine LaFollette advising Noble Energy on two offerings of senior notes worth a combined $1.1bn. The firm also continues to build on its underwriter-side practice, and Houston-based securities co-lead John Goodgame assisted Wells Fargo Securities with WildHorse Resource Development’s $150m private placement of senior unsecured notes.

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP’s practice is now led jointly by Houston-based Michael O’Leary and Austin managing partner Matthew Lyons, following the departure of a four-partner energy capital markets team, which included former co-head David Buck, to Sidley Austin LLP. Issuer-side mandates dominate the practice, and it is particularly active for energy companies, but it also garners a sizeable share of underwriter representations. In an example of the latter, O’Leary and Houston-based Jordan Hirsch advised the underwriters on two senior notes issuances by Energy Transfer Partners, worth a combined $1.5bn. On the issuer side Henry Havre, also based in Houston, acted for NuStar Logistics on its $550m senior notes offering. Stephanie Beauvais and Meredith Mouer left for in-house positions at Shell and Tellurian respectively.

Arnold & Porter has a strong profile for its experience in advising sovereign issuers on major debt offerings. In a highlight example, Washington DC-based Whitney Debevoise acted for the Republic of Honduras on its $700m bond offering. Among its work for corporate issuers, San Francisco’s Teresa Johnson assisted Charles Schwab with several offerings, including its $650m issuance of senior notes. Although the group is best known for issuer-side representations it does act for managers and New York’s Steven Tepper advised the underwriters on a public offering of $1bn of guaranteed notes by Iraq. New York partners Robert Azarow and Christopher Peterson co-lead the capital markets group alongside Johnson.

The practice at Baker Botts L.L.P., which strikes a good balance between issuer and underwriter representations, is particularly recognized for its expertise in the energy and transport sectors. Capital markets lead Joshua Davidson is ‘a go-to guy in Texas’ and advised the underwriters on Plains All American Pipeline’s $750m offering of senior notes. In another headline, John Geddes advised the underwriters on two debenture offerings by Burlington Northern Santa Fe worth a combined $1.2bn. Among its issuer highlights, Gene Oshman acted for Chesapeake Energy on two private placements of notes totaling $850m. David Kirkland, who co-leads the firm’s wider corporate group, is also recommended for debt securities. All named partners are based in Houston.

Houston-headquartered Bracewell LLP leverages its signature oil and gas practice to shine in energy-related offerings ¬¬¬- mainly for issuers, such as Apache, Energy & Exploration Partners and Kinder Morgan. William Anderson co-heads the practice and acted with key partner Troy Harder to advise Phillips 66 on a $600m private notes offering. Outside of the energy sector, group co-chair Charles Still assisted the food giant Sysco with its $750m offering of senior notes. In 2017, the group was bolstered by the arrival of energy capital markets specialist Timothy Langenkamp from Sidley Austin LLP.

Widely admired for its market leading high-yield debt capability, Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP also garners a significant volume of investment grade work. The firm is widely revered for its strong links to underwriters and attracts strong praise for its ‘ability to nurture client relationships’, ‘peerless business acumen’ and ‘deep bench’ and it is regularly called upon by all the major national and global investment banks. The ‘very commercial and strategic’ Jonathan Schaffzin co-heads the New York-based team and with John Tripodoro advised the joint book-running managers and the co-manager on Rackspace Hosting’s $1.2bn senior notes offering. In another key headline, James Clark acted for Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan as the lead book-running managers on Symantec’s $1.1bn offering of notes. The ‘extremely experienced’ team also benefits from the senior expertise of William Hartnett, Douglas Horowitz and group co-chair Daniel Zubkoff.

‘Premier capital markets firm’, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP impresses with its ‘strong subject matter expertise’ and ‘outstanding industry knowledge’. The New York-based team, which is widely lauded as ‘top choice counsel’ by issuers and underwriters, scores particularly highly for its ‘amazing strength-in-depth’ - bolstered further in 2018 with the promotion of Andrea Basham to counsel. The group is routinely involved in major headline debt deals, across all market segments, and also houses robust non-transactional expertise, with sources commending its ‘strong regulatory advice and guidance’. Among its bank-side work, ‘leading light’ Jeffrey Karpf assisted the underwriters with AIG’s €1bn notes offering and ‘fantastic’ younger partner Pamela Marcogliese acted for the underwriters on Chevron’s $4bn notes offering. On the issuer side, Tech Data turned to the group for advice on its $1bn dual-tranche notes offering - Nicolas Grabar led that work. In a high-profile cross-border mandate Andrés de la Cruz, who splits his time between New York and Buenos Aires, acted for the Republic of Argentina on a dollar-denominated $7bn bond offering. Other names to note include Craig Brod (‘among the best’), Adam Fleisher (‘a highly respected industry advisor’), Leslie Silverman and David Lopez.

The ‘Rolls-Royce practice’ at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is widely regarded as ‘a stand-out performer in the securities space’. The New York-centered team, which wins an enviable share of the market’s most high-profile transactions, is equally adept on the issuer and underwriter side and counts major multinationals and bulge bracket banks among its most active clients. North America department lead Andrew Pitts is ‘extremely strong’ and led several big-ticket transactions over the past year, including acting for the underwriters (led by Morgan Stanley, Barclays, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and Mizuho Securities) on a €2.7bn offering of fixed- and floating-rate notes by Allergan Funding. In another headline underwriter-side mandate, corporate heavyweight Craig Arcella advised the underwriters on two notes offerings by Johnson & Johnson totaling $9bn. Among its issuer highlights, Stephen Burns and William Whelan assisted International Business Machines with its $2.7bn notes offering, while Johnny Skumpija, whose ‘star continues to rise’, advised Northrop Grumman on its $8.2bn notes offering. William Fogg is also a key contact.

DLA Piper LLP (US) has an active issuer-side practice, which routinely advises clients across a broad range of industry sectors, including technology, mining and natural resources, retail and life sciences. New York’s Jamie Knox heads the debt capital markets practice and supported Everi Holdings on its $375m offering of senior unsecured notes. He and Washington DC-based Stasia Kelly advised US Steel on a $750m senior notes offering. Christopher Paci, also based in New York, chairs the wider capital markets practice.

According to clients, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP’s ‘peerless bench strength’ and ‘invaluable cross-practice support’ makes the firm ‘a top choice for strategic deals’. Indeed, few firms can match the group’s senior corporate firepower, with global capital markets co-head Richard Truesdell regarded by many as ‘simply the best in his field’; he advised the representatives of the underwriters on AbbVie’s €3.6bn notes offering. Corporate governance lead Joseph Hall is ‘the complete package’ and acted for the joint book-running managers on Rockwell Collins’ $4.6bn notes offering. Deanna Kirkpatrick had a banner year and led on several of the group’s headline deals, including advising the joint book-running managers on Abbot Laboratories’ $15.1bn notes offering. On the issuer side, Menlo Park-based Bruce Dallas is a strong choice for technology companies and assisted Comcast with four debt transactions worth a combined $7.5bn. Michael Kaplan and Menlo Park-based Alan Denenberg are also high-profile partners. Named attorneys are based in New York, unless otherwise stated.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP had a robust year on the issuer side, acting for a diverse range of companies spanning the communications, financial services and consumer products industries. Among its key highlights Matthew Kaplan, who co-chairs the New York-based practice, advised Discovery Communications on its acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive, which involved a $6.7bn notes offering to finance the transaction. Kaplan also acted for Westpac on four public debt offerings worth $9.2bn. Key partner Peter Loughran also had a busy year, most notably assisting International Paper Company with its issuance of $1bn in senior unsecured notes. Co-head Steven Slutzky advised the representatives of the initial purchasers on Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America’s $2bn notes offering.

Dechert LLP has an active debt practice, which stands out for its niche expertise in life sciences and permanent capital vehicles, especially business development companies. In a recent example of its work in this area, Philadelphia-based partners Kenneth Young and Gregory Schernecke advised business development company Corporate Capital Trust on a private offering of $140m of senior notes. Boston-based corporate finance specialist Thomas Friedmann co-chairs the capital markets group and assisted Eagle Point Credit Company with several recent deals, including handling its $31.6m public notes offering. David Rosenthal co-chairs the department from New York.

The debt capital markets practice at Faegre Baker Daniels regularly acts for large seasoned issuers on sizeable transactions, demonstrating robust experience across the full range of public and private capital raising and recapitalization deals. Sonia Shewchuk leads the Minneapolis-based team and alongside key partner Dawn Holicky Pruitt advised Wells Fargo & Company and Wells Fargo Bank on a string of debt offerings over the past year, worth a combined $24.6bn. Pruitt also recently assisted retail giant Target with a $750m debt offering. Archer-Daniels-Midland, Alimentation Couche-Tard and Zimmer Biomet Holdings are also clients.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP’s three-partner New York-based team benefits from the ‘top-tier experience’ of seasoned specialist and global capital markets co-head Valerie Ford Jacob. Manager-side mandates comprise the bulk of work, such as Ford Jacob acting with key partner Michael Levitt to advise the underwriters on Kroger’s $1bn offering of senior notes. In another key headline Paul Tropp, who heads the New York capital markets group, acted for the underwriters on Dollar General Corporation’s $600m offering of senior notes. The firm has strong relationships with major national and global investment banks and clients include Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank.

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, which has significantly increased its market share of investment grade transactions during recent years, has a robust underwriter-side practice and is also routinely called upon by issuers. Key names Daniel Bursky and Stuart Gelfond, who co-lead the New York-based group, advised the underwriters on five debt offerings by Athene Global Funding totaling $2.7bn. Bursky and Andrew Barkan acted for the underwriters on multiple issuances by Procter & Gamble, including assisting Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Securities with Procter & Gamble’s two-tranche $2bn notes offering. Recent issuer clients include Coach, Humana and Merck.

In 2017, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP boosted its practice with the hire of a three-partner energy-focused capital markets team into its nascent Houston office; Gerry Spedale, Hillary Holmes and Doug Rayburn all join from Baker Botts L.L.P.. In addition to its Texas arm, the team benefits from a sizeable New York presence as well as strong offices in California, Washington DC and Colorado. Andrew Fabens co-leads the group from New York and advised Chobani Global Holdings on its $530m offering of senior notes. In Los Angeles, department co-chair Peter Wardle assisted Aecom with its $1bn private offering of notes. Stewart McDowell co-chairs the practice from San Francisco and was engaged by Xilinx for its $750m notes issuance. Denver’s Robyn Zolman is a key name for energy-related transactions.

‘Knowledgeable, experienced and dependable’, Goodwin’s capital markets group is widely lauded for being ‘great to deal with’. In particular the practice, which has a strong emphasis on issuer-side work, attracts praise for being ‘simply the best for REIT-related deals’ - it also shines in technology, life sciences and financial services matters. Boston-based James Barri is a key partner and advised HubSpot on a $400m private offering of convertible senior notes. Boston-based REIT specialist Ettore Santucci chairs the department and together with Barri assisted AMAG Pharmaceuticals with its $300m convertible senior notes offering. Other clients include Cornerstone OnDemand, Radius Health and VEREIT.

The ‘practical group’ at Hogan Lovells US LLP scores highly for its ‘immediate response times’, ‘tailor-made advice’ and ‘strong business acumen’. The issuer-side practice is a prominent player in regulated industry-related offerings and is particularly sought after by companies in the life sciences, communications and aerospace sectors. Key highlights include Eve Howard advising Apple on over $52bn of debt offerings during 2017, including a $10bn senior bond offering. On the life sciences side, Richard Parrino acted for UnitedHealth Group on around $6.8bn worth of public debt offerings. David Bonser heads the group and advised the underwriters on Hudson Pacific Properties’ $400m notes offering. The team also includes Stuart Stein and Northern Virginia-based ‘knowledgeable problem-solver’ Kevin Greenslade. Named attorneys are based in Washington DC, unless otherwise stated.

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP’s capital markets department is co-led by New York partners Susan Failla and Peter O’Brien, and Richmond-based David Wright. The team’s solid issuer offering is complemented by a sound manager-side practice and it has a strong record in REIT and power-related work. On the company side, Dallas-based corporate finance partners Steven Leshin and Lindsay Ferguson advised General Motors Financial Company on multiple issuances of floating-rate and fixed-rate debt totaling $11.2bn. In Richmond, Lake Taylor assisted Lowe’s Companies with its $3bn debt offering. Among its underwriter-side work, New York-based energy specialists Bud Ellis and Steven Friend acted for JP Morgan Securities, Scotia Capital and Wells Fargo Securities on a $1bn notes offering by American Electric Power Company.

‘Truly superior’ Jones Day strikes the right note with clients for its ‘deep breadth of knowledge and expertise’ and ability to ‘efficiently respond to business needs’. Christopher Kelly, who splits his time between Cleveland and New York, heads a growing group, which was boosted by the arrival of two partners in 2017: Alan Seem joined in Palo Alto from Shearman & Sterling LLP and Emily Leitch joined in Houston from Bracewell LLP. In addition, Houston-based Kelly Turner made partner. Cleveland-based Kimberly Pustulka has ‘deep securities knowledge and is able to distill highly nuanced and complex subjects into simple language’; she advised FirstEnergy on a $3bn senior notes offering. In New York, Rory Hood acted for the representatives of the underwriters on a $4bn notes offering by PepsiCo. Cleveland’s Michael Solecki and Chicago’s Edward Winslow are also names to note.

King & Spalding LLP’s practice is largely weighted towards issuer-side clients and handles the full spread of public and private offerings and liability management transactions. Practice head Keith Townsend recently advised SunTrust Banks on a $1bn notes offering. Carrie Ratliff is also a key partner and, with Jeffrey Stein, assisted UPS with a two-tranche notes offering totaling €1.2bn. The group also includes Houston-based Jeffery Malonson and new counsel Jennifer DePalma, who joined from The Credit Junction in 2017 and splits her time between the firm’s Palo Alto and New York offices. Named attorneys are based in Atlanta, unless otherwise stated.

The client consensus is that Kirkland & Ellis LLP’s service levels are ‘nothing short of outstanding’. The group’s ‘strong bench’ also impresses with senior partners highlighted for their ‘extraordinary subject matter knowledge’ and junior attorneys commended as ‘practical and very competent’. The issuer-focused practice leverages the firm’s stellar private equity client base to shine in advising private equity funds on capital markets deals but its recent expertise also spans the technology, communications, energy and food and beverage sectors. In New York, Christian Nagler ‘consistently provides timely and accurate advice’ and advised Charter Communications on a $1.5bn notes offering. Also in New York, Richard Aftanas advised Exelon on its $1.1bn offering of junior subordinated notes. In Chicago, Robert Hayward acted for Boeing on three senior notes offerings totaling $900m. Joshua Korff and Dennis Myers are also recommended in Chicago and New York respectively.

The well-balanced debt practice at Latham & Watkins LLP secures a steady stream of issuer and manager-side mandates, which it handles from its well-staffed offices in New York, Chicago and Washington DC. The already sizeable department grew further in 2017 with the hire of New York-based partner Wenchi Hu, who was formerly at the SEC, as well as the partner promotions of Washington DC-based Brandon Bortner and New York-based Benjamin Stern. Chicago’s Manasi Bhattacharyya was also elevated to counsel. New York-based global corporate chair Marc Jaffe is widely recognized as ‘a star in the area’ and advised JP Morgan Securities on Moody’s two-tranche notes offering totaling $1bn. Also in New York, ‘great lawyer’ Michael Benjamin and Stelios Saffos assisted Bank of America Merrill Lynch with Staples’ $1bn notes offering. Among its issuer highlights, Washington DC-based partners Rachel Sheridan and Jason Licht acted for Allison Transmission on a $1bn senior notes offering. The firm has also recently advised Carlyle, CommScope and MEG Energy on their debt offerings. Other key names are Cathy Birkeland in Chicago and ‘consummate professional’ Ian Schuman in New York.

Mayer Brown’s comprehensive national group regularly advises corporate issuers and most major underwriters on debt capital markets transactions. Edward Best heads the group from Chicago and acted for the underwriters on several high-profile offerings over the past year, including advising Morgan Stanley on Kellogg’s €600m notes issuance. On the issuer side, Chicago-based Michael Hermsen assisted Prologis with its £500m notes offering, while Palo Alto-based Jennifer Carlson advised Plastipak Holdings on a $500m notes offering. The group has also recently undertaken work for AGT Food and Ingredients, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Halcón Resources. Chicago-based David Schuette is also recommended. The firm hired a senior capital markets team from Morrison & Foerster LLP in 2018, which included new global practice co-head Anna Pinedo and Jerry Marlatt, as well as tax specialists Thomas Humphreys and Remmelt Reigersman - all join the New York office, except Reigersman who joins in Palo Alto.

‘Extremely fast and efficient’ Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP finds favor for its ‘supremely capable lawyers’. The group, which leverages the firm’s strong relationships with lenders to excel in advising underwriters, has broad expertise spanning project bond deals, sovereign bond transactions and acquisition financings. It also continues to increase its market share of issuer-side work. Rod Miller is valued for his ‘strong communication skills, business sense and ability to deal with senior management’. Miller and Benjamin Miles advised the initial purchasers on a $425m senior notes offering by co-issuers Alpha 3 and Alpha US Bidco, as part of the $3.2bn acquisition of Atotech. Paul Denaro and Stuart Morrissy are also key names and advised the underwriters on Verizon Communication’s five-tranche bond sale worth over $10bn. Notable arrivals in 2017 include Casey Fleck, who joined in Los Angeles from Latham & Watkins LLP, and special counsel Lesley Janzen, who joined from Paul Hastings LLP. Named attorneys are based in New York, unless otherwise stated.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP’s debt group is particularly active on behalf of issuers and it routinely acts for national and multinational corporate clients operating in the energy, financial services, technology and life sciences sectors. New York-based Thomas Giblin led on several of the department’s recent highlights, including assisting NextEra Energy Capital Holdings with its $1.2bn issuance of debentures. In Philadelphia, Joanne Soslow advised AmeriGas Partners on a $525m offering of senior notes and a tender offer of approximately $378m of senior notes. The team also includes Philadelphia’s Justin Chairman and newly promoted partner Sean Donahue, who is based in Washington DC.

‘Accessible, knowledgeable and great to deal with’, Morrison & Foerster LLP sets itself apart through its ‘strict adherence to the client’s key goals’. The firm secures a steady stream of financial services-related work and New York-based Ze’-ev Eiger advised Incapital as lead dealer on the establishment of a $100m retail note program for Capital Impact Partners. REIT-related work is a notable strength and Washington DC-based REIT specialist David Slotkin assisted Equity Residential’s operating partnership, ERP Operating Limited Partnership, with its $700m notes offering. In 2018, a senior team left for Mayer Brown, which included former practice head Anna Pinedo, Jerry Marlatt and tax specialists Thomas Humphreys and Remmelt Reigersman.

O'Melveny & Myers LLP packs a punch on the manager side, under the leadership of New York-based department head Michael Schiavone. Schiavone maintains a prolific practice and advised on several of the group’s key deals during 2017, including acting for Bank of America Merrill Lynch as the purchasing agents on a $2bn private offering by Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation. He also advised the agents on a $2.6bn private offering by Branch Banking and Trust Company. Los Angeles managing partner John-Paul Motley is also recommended and advised Air Lease on a $600m public debt offering.

In San Francisco, firmwide transactions co-chair Brophy Christensen is a key contact for debt capital markets deals.

The national group at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP has a strong West Coast footprint, which calls upon experienced teams in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, and it also benefits from a solid New York presence. Issuer-side mandates dominate the firm’s debt work and it is particularly active for life sciences, technology and public sector clients. San Francisco’s Brett Cooper acts on a significant proportion of the firm’s headline debt transactions and recently advised Nova Chemicals on a $1bn notes offering. He also assisted Pacific Gas and Electric with its dual-tranche offering of notes totaling $600m. In New York, Stephen Ashley acted for ITR Concession Company on its $850m notes offering. Other representative clients include Bay Area Rapid Transit District, Levi Strauss and the Public Finance Authority.

Among Paul Hastings LLP’s recent work, Yariv Katz advised the joint book-running managers on Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s $287.5m convertible notes offering. In another group highlight, leveraged finance co-chair John Cobb acted hand-in-hand with the firm’s London office to advise Goldman Sachs as representative for the initial purchasers on Dynergy’s $850m private offering of senior notes. Capital markets chair Michael Zuppone and Latin America practice head Michael Fitzgerald are also key contacts in the New York-based group. In early 2017, Jeffrey Pellegrino left to join Allen & Overy LLP

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP’s broad debt capability is particularly strong on the issuer side but the group also enjoys good links with underwriters. The telecoms, technology and energy sectors are all strong sources of work and it also regularly represents private equity funds and their portfolio companies. New York’s John Kennedy co-heads the North American capital markets and securities practice and recently advised Michael Kors on its $450m offering of senior notes. Andrew Foley, who splits his time between Toronto and New York, advised Canadian Natural Resources on three notes offerings totaling around $3bn. Department co-chair Gregory Ezring and corporate deputy chair Monica Thurmond are also recommended - both are based in New York.

The ‘top-quality’ capital markets group at Proskauer Rose LLP, which is led jointly by Los Angeles-based Philippa Bond and New York’s Frank Lopez, secures an even amount of issuer and underwriter-side work. Although better-known for its record in high-yield deals, the firm’s investment grade practice also impresses. New York highlights include Lopez, Stephen Gruberg and corporate governance specialist Robert Cantone assisting Celgene with its offering of three series of senior unsecured notes totaling $3bn. In Los Angeles, private equity co-head Monica Shilling advised Ares Capital on its $750m notes offering, while Bond assisted Church & Dwight on a $1.4bn notes offering. Other clients include JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Capital Markets and Wells Fargo Securities.

At Shearman & Sterling LLP, high-profile name Lona Nallengara arrived into the New York office from Bridgewater Associates - prior to which he was chief of staff at the SEC. Jonathan DeSantis heads a largely New York-based team that enjoys particularly strong links with underwriters but also acts for corporate issuers. Among its manager highlights, Jason Lehner advised the underwriters on Cenovus Energy’s $2.9bn senior notes offering, while ‘future star’ Merritt Johnson assisted the book-running managers with S&P Global’s $500m notes offering. In a company-side headline, Lisa Jacobs acted for American Axle & Manufacturing on a $1.2bn notes offering. Robert Evans left for the SEC, while Alan Seem joined the Palo Alto office of Jones Day.

The ‘phenomenally talented’ Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is widely commended as ‘a leader in the securities space’. In particular, lawyers attract effusive praise for their ‘rapid response times’ and ‘remarkable business sense’. The practice, which is almost evenly split between issuer and manager mandates, regularly acts on some of the largest debt issuances in the market, such as advising Apple on multiple bond offerings totaling over $28bn - Palo Alto partners Kevin Kennedy (‘a go-to specialist for technology-related transactions’) and Daniel Webb led that work. In another Palo Alto office highlight, William Brentani assisted Microsoft with its $17bn notes offering. Arthur Robinson heads the practice from New York and is ‘a giant in the high-yield debt area’; he also acts on major investment grade deals such as advising the underwriters on Northrop Grumman’s $8.2bn notes offering. In another manager-side headline, New York-based Roxane Reardon acted for the underwriters on a set of note offerings by UnitedHealth totaling around $6.8bn. Other names to note include Kenneth Wallach and Andrew Keller - both operate from New York.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is valued for its ability to ‘combine strong business sense and practicality with top-tier legal knowledge’. In New York, names to note include global corporate finance co-head and ‘securities powerhouse’ Stacy Kanter; she acted with New York’s Ryan Dzierniejko to advise Becton, Dickinson and Company on the financing of its $2bn acquisition of C. R. Bard, which included a $9.7bn notes offering. David Goldschmidt is also a senior figure in New York and advised the joint book-running managers on a €500m notes offering by MPT Operating Partnership. In California, Gregg Noel splits his time between Palo Alto and Los Angeles and heads the firm’s West Coast corporate finance practice; he and Los Angeles-based Michelle Gasaway assisted Fidelity National Information Services with a three-tranche notes offering worth €500m, £300m and €500m respectively. Michael Zeidel and Gregory Fernicola are also recommended in New York.

The ‘outstanding’ team at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP scores highly for its ‘deep knowledge’ and ‘strong ability to explain complex concepts well’. In particular ‘unflappable and creative’ group co-head Robert Downes is ‘a wonderful counselor’; he and Mark Welshimer assisted Citizens Financial Group with three notes offerings totaling $3.2bn. The firm also shines on the manager side and the ‘responsive and knowledgeable’ Robert Buckholz recently advised the underwriters on three notes offerings by Becton, Dickinson and Company worth a combined $11.4bn. Patrick Brown is a key contact in Los Angeles and advised the underwriters on several debt offerings by AT&T including a $22.5bn notes issuance. Other key names in the ‘superior’ team are Palo Alto-based capital markets co-head Sarah Payne and Catherine Clarkin, who is deputy managing partner of the practice. Named attorneys are based in New York, unless otherwise stated.

‘Among the leaders for energy offerings’, Vinson & Elkins LLP’s capital markets team also secures a steady flow of work relating to the aviation, healthcare, real estate and TMT sectors. David Oelman and Matthew Strock co-head a Houston-based team that also benefits from the senior experience of firm chairman Mark Kelly and of counsel Michael Harrington. Among its issuer-side highlights, the firm advised Concho Resources on its $1.8bn offering of senior notes and it also assisted Occidental Petroleum Corporation with its $1.5bn offering of senior notes. The firm has also been active on the manager side and recent work includes advising the underwriters on Enterprise Products Partners’ $1.7bn offering of junior notes. In 2017, Lande Spottswood and Thomas Zentner were promoted to partner.

The ‘extremely responsive’ group at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP impresses with its ‘strong ability to navigate complicated, lengthy negotiations’. The team handles a broad mix of issuer and underwriter-side mandates, with a prominent reputation for advising private equity clients. Among the names to note, Frank Adams is highlighted for his ‘strong advocacy skills and great experience’ and acted for Johnson & Johnson on a $4.5bn multi-tranche offering of senior unsecured notes. Other work includes Faiza Rahman advising the underwriters on Tyson Foods’ offering of $500m fixed-rate senior notes and $400m floating-rate senior notes. Alexander Lynch heads a New York-based practice that also includes key partner Corey Chivers. Other clients include Avolon Holdings, General Electric and Estée Lauder.

White & Case LLP’s traditionally issuer-focused practice secured an impressive volume of high-profile manager mandates during 2017. As a case in point, regional practice head John Vetterli and Andrew Weisberg advised the joint book-running managers on a $2bn cross-border bond issuance by Peruvian government-owned Petróleos del Perú. Furthermore, Gary Kashar and Colin Diamond advised the underwriting syndicate on two debt offerings by Delta Air Lines totaling $2.4bn. Walt Disney remains a trophy client on the issuer side and recently engaged the firm to advise on $6bn worth of debt issuances, including a C$1.2bn SEC-registered offering sold in Canada through private placement - Michelle Rutta led that work. The team, which is largely centered in New York, has also recently handled matters for Avangrid, Empresa de Transporte de Pasajeros Metro and Société Générale.

WilmerHale’s practice has a clear focus on advising public and private companies in the technology and life sciences industries on debt offerings - the communications and financial services sectors are also significant sources of work. Washington DC-based Erika Robinson co-chairs the practice and advised Medtronic on $2bn worth of senior notes issuances by two of its wholly-owned subsidiaries. Robinson and corporate vice-chair Justin Ochs, who splits his time between Washington DC and New York, advised Analog Devices on its offering of four tranches of senior unsecured notes totaling $2.1bn. The group has also recently undertaken work for Discovery Communications, Entegris and State Street. Brian Johnson co-chairs the capital markets practice from New York.

Winston & Strawn LLP continues to invest in strengthening its capital markets team and new arrivals in 2017 include former Locke Lord LLP partners Bryan Goolsby and Kenneth Betts, who joined the firm’s new Dallas office, and a group of international capital markets partners led by Allen Miller and Talbert Navia, who joined in New York from Chadbourne & Parke. Underwriter-side mandates are the mainstay of the practice and Chicago-based key partner Cab Morris acted for the joint book-running managers on a $1bn offering of first mortgage bonds by Commonwealth Edison. An increased profile on the issuer side saw several company-side highlights, including New York’s Robert Rawn assisting Silgan Holdings with its private offerings of senior unsecured notes totaling $986.9m. New York-based Joel Rubinstein chairs the department.