Akin is best known for energy company debt issuances, through its offices in Houston and Dallas. The firm is also recognised for its expertise in restructuring-related debt offerings. It is primary issuer focused and is broadening its practice through the New York office, where Rosa Testani has a strong profile in high-yield debt offerings, and is further recognized for liability management transactions, corporate restructurings and issuances as companies emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Houston’s John Goodgame and Dallas partner Garrett DeVries are noted for energy sector offerings, including those by master limited partnerships (MLPs). Christine LaFollette has retired from the partnership.

Arnold & Porter has a solid record in investment grade, high-yield and convertible debt offerings. It remains best known for its work in headline sovereign debt offerings in Latin America, Turkey and Hungary. Liability management and restructuring-related transactions are also a forte. Its sector strength includes life sciences, healthcare, technology and financial services. New York partner Christopher Peterson is an experienced figure in investment grade and high-yield debt, and is prominent in sovereign finance. Washington DC’s Whitney Debevoise has an outstanding record in sovereign offerings, especially in Latin America. San Francisco partner Teresa Johnson is another key member of the team.

Baker Botts L.L.P. continues to be rated for debt offerings in the energy sector, which has been given additional strength in high-yield debt and underwriter engagements by the arrival of partner Doug Getten from Paul Hastings LLP; Getten has joined as vice-chair of the capital markets and securities team. The team is also noted for its expertise in MLPs. Chair of the capital markets and securities team Joshua Davidson has an outstanding record, noted for his experience in both issuer and underwriter engagements. Eileen Boyce has been promoted to partner. All named partners are based in Houston. Justin Hoffman left the firm in August 2022.

Bracewell LLP remains best known for debt offerings by energy businesses and financial services institutions, including community banking organisations. Outside its core industry sectors, it also advised Sysco, the global distributor of food and related products on its $1.25bn offering of unsecured senior notes. Houston partners William Anderson and Troy Harder are key figures, along with Catherine Hood in New York, who offers a range of expertise including in offerings of first mortgage and collateral trust bonds, green bonds, unsecured notes and high-yield debt.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP has a history of headline and high-value transactions, including market-firsts and novel structures. It has an impressive mix of investment grade, high-yield, convertible and exchangeable debt deals. The firm has close connections to a number of blue-chip issuers and top-tier underwriters. It represented the underwriters in 10 notes offerings by JPMorgan totalling $38.9bn and advised the underwriters on the $2.9bn registered senior notes offering of ConocoPhillips. Craig Arcella and Andrew Pitts are big names in the market, including in investment grade and high-yield debt offerings. William Fogg, Stephen Burns and Scott Bennett are also key names, along with Nicholas Dorsey. Michael Mariani is increasingly prominent.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is widely rated for its record in headline and complex transactions. Notably, it advised Discovery on the $30bn offering of senior unsecured notes by Magallanes, the wholly-owned subsidiary of AT&T; the transaction related to Discovery’s acquisition of WarnerMedia from AT&T. The firm also remains active in issuances by financial services and insurance businesses, and transactions connected to its plentiful private equity client base. Matthew Kaplan is a prominent figure in the market, along with fellow co-head of the capital markets group Steven Slutzky and key partners Eric Juergens, Paul Rodel and Peter Loughran.

Dechert LLP continues to be rated for its expertise in life sciences and permanent capital vehicles; it is a dominant force in issuances by business development companies (BDCs). It recently advised Blackstone Private Credit Fund on its $500m private placement of 2.700% senior secured notes due 2025 and $650m private placement of 4.000% senior secured notes due 2029. Jay Alicandri is a major force in DCM offerings in the permanent capital and private credit segments. Boston partner Thomas Friedmann is co-head of corporate finance and capital markets and co-head of permanent capital, frequently advising on capital markets offerings by BDCs.

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP’s active capital markets practice is largely centred in Minneapolis and Indianapolis. A large part of its DCM practice is driven by anchor client Wells Fargo, which it advised on over $25.2bn worth of offerings during the research period, including a $2bn sustainability bond. Dawn Holicky Pruitt leads the relationship with Wells Fargo and other key clients. Fellow Minneapolis partner Brandon Mason is another prominent member of the team.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP has a fine record in bulge-bracket bond offerings. It continues to make an impression in convertible debt and green bond offerings, and boasts a prominent team in New York and Silicon Valley. Well-known for investment grade offerings, it is gaining ground in high-yield debt. It has an exceptional issuer client base, but also gains many engagements from underwriters. The exceptionally experienced Valerie Ford Jacob is global co-head of the capital markets team and consistently advises issuers and underwriters on high-value offerings. In Silicon Valley, Sarah Solum is head of US capital markets and has an excellent record with tech businesses, including advising Oracle on its $7bn SEC-registered offering of senior notes. Michael Levitt is also noted for convertible debt offerings and Silicon Valley/New York partner Pamela Marcogliese for green bonds, among other capital markets offerings and corporate governance engagements.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP has an outstanding record in debt offerings. It has impressive links to a multitude of issuers, along with a number of underwriters. It recently advised Amazon.com on its SEC-registered offering of notes, totalling $12.75bn. General Electric is another major client. The capital markets team benefits from the firm’s strong expertise in securities regulation and corporate governance. Andrew Fabens has a huge reputation in big-ticket investment grade debt offerings, while Houston partner Hillary Holmes is noted for energy-sector offerings. San Francisco partner Stewart McDowell is another key partner, while the arrival of Douglas Horowitz in April 2022 brings further senior-level credibility.

Goodwin remains best known for its fervent activities in convertible debt for life sciences and tech businesses, particularly NYSE and Nasdaq-listed companies. It has an established record in convertible debt and related derivatives transactions. The firm also has a buoyant presence in investment grade and high-yield debt, and is well-versed in liability management transactions. Key figure, James Barri is co-chair of the capital markets team and has an outstanding reputation in convertible debt offerings. Fellow co-chair Ettore Santucci is noted for REITs and real estate sector offerings. New York partner John Servidio has a long-term experience in convertible debt and related derivatives transactions. Named partners are based in Boston unless stated otherwise.

Hogan Lovells US LLP has close links to a range of large-cap and S&P 500 issuers, which it routinely advises on high-value debt offerings. In recent times it has advised UnitedHealth, Lockheed Martin and Colgate-Palmolive on debt offerings in excess of $1bn. It has an especially strong record in life sciences and healthcare, real estate and TMT.  The firm also represents a number of banks and sovereign issuers. Washington DC partner Eve Howard is global head of capital markets and has a fine record in investment grade, high-yield and convertible debt. New York’s Stuart Morrissy provides further senior-level expertise in high-yield debt and liability management.

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP has a buoyant practice driven by a significant flow of engagements from the energy, power and utilities sectors. The firm has an excellent record in representing issuers and underwriters and has landed major engagements from both sides of the fence in 2022, with a notably fine series of deals as underwriters’ counsel. Consumer products, retail, and REITs are also primary industries for the capital markets team. In the energy segment, Houston partner Courtney Cochran Butler continues to make an impression, including in green bonds and sustainability-linked bonds. Fellow Houston partner James Davidson is an experienced figure in REIT capital markets offerings. Susan Failla is rated for consumer and retail sector debt offerings, and Peter O’Brien, Steven Friend and Michael Fitzpatrick are also key partners in power and utilities. All named partners are based in New York unless stated otherwise.

Jones Day has a steady flow of investment grade and high-yield debt engagements, along with convertible and exchangeable bond offerings. It has an established record in representing issuers and underwriters in large-cap and mid-cap transactions. It is notably active in consumer goods, energy and utilities, along with other industrial companies. Thanks to its multiple offices, including strong teams in New York and Cleveland, it has especially widespread links to issuers. New York partner Rory Hood and Cleveland’s Michael Solecki are key figures in the group.

King & Spalding LLP has a well-developed DCM practice, encompassing high-yield debt, equity-linked securities, liability management, and green and sustainability-linked bonds, among other areas. It has worked on a number of headline green bond offerings in recent times. The firm is noted for its strength in the energy, financial institutions, life sciences and healthcare, industrials, real estate and telecommunications sectors. The issuer-focused practice boasts clients such as General Motors, ConocoPhillips and Evolent Health. Atlanta partners Keith Townsend, Cal Smith and Zachary Cochran are all key capital markets specialists.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has a buoyant DCM practice, principally driven by issuer engagements. Along with standalone corporate issuers, the firm also receives numerous mandates through its illustrious private equity clients and their portfolio companies. The firm is particularly well known for sponsor-backed company high-yield debt offerings and acquisition finance-related debt offerings. It represented a consortium led by Hellman & Friedman and Bain Capital on its acquisition of Athenahealth, which involved a $2.35bn offering of senior notes as part of the financing of the deal. The firm is also rated for liability management transactions. Joshua Korff and Sophia Hudson are key partners in New York, along with Robert Hayward in Chicago.

Latham & Watkins LLP is at the forefront of DCM with an outstanding record in high-yield debt and a fast growing presence in investment grade debt. The firm is a clear leader in issuer-side engagements, though is one of the major players on underwriter-side mandates. With a strong core team in New York, it has prominent capital markets specialists across numerous US offices, including Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, Houston and Boston. The New York team was further enhanced by the hire of leading capital markets practitioner Corey Wright from Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP in January 2023. New York managing partner Marc Jaffe is rated for both debt and equity offerings, while New York-based global capital markets head Ian Schuman is noted for equity, convertible debt and high-yield debt offerings. Los Angeles partner Gregory Rodgers is at the forefront of convertible debt. Stelios Saffos is also a vice chair of the capital markets team.

Mayer Brown is a major player in investment grade debt, frequently representing both issuers and underwriters; the firm remains first choice underwriters’ counsel for a number of major issuers. The team advised on over $123bn of investment grade debt offerings. It is especially strong in financial services, specialty finance, automotive finance, consumer products, industrials and REITs, and is also making a further impression in covered bonds. Green and sustainability-linked bonds are another forte, along with social bonds and liability management. In addition, the firm is making headway in high-yield debt. Chicago’s Edward Best is a vastly experienced figure in financial services and automotive finance sector debt offerings and programs. Anna Pinedo is a key player in domestic and global bond offerings, and Jerry Marlatt is outstanding for covered bond programs for Canadian banks. Ryan Castillo and Chicago’s John Ablan are also emerging talents. Named partners are based in New York unless stated otherwise. Jonathan Pacheco has left the firm.

McGuireWoods LLP is rated for its frequent advice to Bank of America on multiple debt issuances and its regular engagements from various utilities. Over the research period, the firm advised Bank of America on more than $25bn in debt offerings. It also represented Virginia Electric and Power on a series of high-value debt issuances. Charlotte partners Greg Kilpatrick and Barlow Mann, along with Hannah Thompson Frank in Pittsburgh, are key figures in the team.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP has maintained its strong focus on energy and utilities, along with the financial services, technology and life sciences sectors. It has an established record in investment grade, high-yield and convertible debt, along with MTN programmes and other debt instruments. New York partner Thomas Giblin has continued to be active in the DCM space for energy and utilities businesses, notably representing NextEra Energy Capital in a series of debt issuances. Also in New York, Kimberly Reisler is making an impression in energy and utilities, while Joanne Soslow is another key partner in Philadelphia.

Morrison Foerster has a broad-based practice, covering a variety of debt instruments for a wide range of businesses. The firm represents global businesses down to emerging technology companies. Key industries include financial services, finch, energy, life sciences and biotech, technology, telecoms and REITs. Team members are spread across San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, with key partners Justin Salon and Scott Lesme based in Washington DC. David Slotkin is also rated for REIT offerings and operates from the firm's Washington DC office.

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP’s strength in capital markets historically centred on the West coast, but recent growth in New York has given it additional weight on the East coast. It remains especially noted for its work in the technology and life sciences sectors, particularly in convertible debt offerings. It also has a fine record in both issuer and underwriter engagements, including many of the bulge-bracket investment banks. San Francisco and Silicon Valley partner William Hughes leads the capital markets team. San Francisco’s Brett Cooper and New York partner Alice Hsu are also experienced capital markets specialists, while Marsha Mogilevich and Mark Mushkin are emerging talents in New York.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP’s DCM practice is principally driven by issuer engagements. It continues to represent a wide range of private equity portfolio companies in their DCM issuances, along with other corporate issuers; the capital markets team has particularly strong connections to Apollo Global Management and its portfolio companies. The practice has experienced further growth in sustainability-linked bond offerings. Global chair of the finance and capital markets group Gregory Ezring is noted for his advice to Apollo Global Management and its portfolio companies, John Kennedy is also rated for rescue financings, and Brian Janson has longstanding experience in convertible and high-yield debt. All named partners are based in New York.

Ropes & Gray LLP’s reputation in the DCM market is very much in the ascendancy. Having grown its New York team over the last five years, it brought in Faiza Rahman from Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Daniel Forman from Proskauer Rose LLP in April 2022 to further cement the firm’s standing in the city and nationwide. The team is noted for its advice to private equity houses and other fund managers, and also sees high levels of engagements from underwriters. Paul Tropp co-heads the capital markets group from the Boston office and frequently represents underwriters in investment grade offerings by private equity funds, credit funds and business development companies (BDCs). Boston’s Craig Marcus and New York partner Christopher Capuzzi are also key partners.

Shearman & Sterling LLP has a prestigious record in investment grade bonds. It continues to attract frequent engagements from both issuers and underwriters, including in bulge-bracket offerings. Historically, the capital markets team has operated more regularly on the underwriters’ side with close links to the top global financial institutions, though it has achieved greater prominence on the issuer front in recent years. The firm is also noted for its representation of Canadian financial institutions and other Canadian issuers in bond offerings, thanks to the presence of Jason Lehner, who splits his time between New York and Toronto. Lona Nallengara and Richard Alsop are also highly rated partners in New York.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP remains an established leader in DCM, with an outstanding record in investment grade debt, high-yield debt, convertible bonds, equity-linked instruments and derivatives transactions. It is equally highly-rated for both issuer and underwriter engagements. The New York-based team has a fine background in representing first-time issuers and repeat issuers thanks to its expertise in high-yield debt and IPOs. In 2022, it continued to advise on a series of bulge-bracket and headline deals, including representing the underwriters in two public offerings by UnitedHealth Group totalling $15bn. It also advised the initial purchasers and selling security holders in AT&T’s $30bn senior notes offering in connection with the combination of WarnerMedia with Discovery. Kenneth Wallach is an experienced capital markets specialist with a fine record in investment grade debt and convertible bond offerings. Roxane Reardon is rated for investment grade debt, convertible debt and equity-linked securities. Ryan Bekkerus and John Ericson are also key partners. The seasoned Arthur Robinson retains an outstanding reputation.

Vinson & Elkins LLP’s capital markets practice is largely located in its Houston headquarters. Its engagements continue to be in the energy and infrastructure sectors, along with REITs and other industries; it represents a wide range of private equity portfolio companies. The firm remains active in both issuer and underwriter representation. It has achieved further recognition in green bonds and sustainability-linked bonds. David Oelman, David Stone and Douglas McWilliams are active partners in Houston, along with Christopher Green in Washington DC, who is noted for REIT offerings.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP has achieved steady deal flow with particular growth in underwriter engagements. It is now a major player in both investment grade and high-yield debt, notably advising the underwriters on the $3.6bn senior unsecured notes offering by Parker-Hannifin Corporation. The capital markets team also frequently works on investment grade bond offerings in relation to acquisition financings and is also noted for its expertise in convertible debt. Corey Chivers and Frank Adams are established names in the market, along with Merritt Johnson and Michael Hickey who are helping to further build the firm’s standing in debt offerings, including underwriter-side engagements.

White & Case LLP has an excellent record in domestic and global debt offerings, most notably transactions that originate from Latin America and Europe. It has a fine record in investment grade bonds, high-yield debt and liability management. It is also making a further impression in sustainability-linked debt offerings. Gary Kashar is rated for representing big-name foreign issuers in high-value debt offerings. David Johansen and Andrew Weisberg are also key members of the team; the latter represented the underwriters on JAB Holdings’ $500m sustainability-linked bonds offering. Abigail Simon is a rising star at associate level. All named individuals are based in New York.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP has a major presence in investment grade, high-yield debt and convertible bonds. Much of its capital markets practice is connected to buyouts and insurance securities offerings. Cristopher Greer and Gregory Astrachan are co-heads of the capital markets practice.

Winston & Strawn LLP has maintained its presence in investment grade and high-yield debt, convertible debt and other hybrid securities. It has a particularly strong record as underwriters’ counsel. Real estate, technology, industrials, media, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, financial services, energy, and food and beverages are key sectors of focus for the capital markets team. It has extensive experience in debt tender and exchange offers. Carol Anne Huff co-chairs the capital markets group from Chicago, alongside David Sakowitz in New York. Chicago partner Cab Morris is also an active member of the practice.