Mergers & Acquisitions
Global Dealmaking Drops More Than Two-Thirds for Big Law Firms
Posted Apr 1, 2008, 04:56 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Mergers and acquisitions work has plummeted by more than two-thirds for large law firms, according to new figures on the number of clients represented.
The top 10 law firms represented 180 clients in global mergers-and-acquisitions deals for the year’s first quarter, down from 662 representations last year, according to preliminary figures from Dealogic obtained by the Wall Street Journal Law Blog.
Law firms represented 141 clients in domestic deals, down from 302 representations last year.
The top law firm for M&A deals handled was Sullivan & Cromwell, Law Blog reports. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Simpson Thacher were close behind.
Related Stories
- Perpetual Competition in Large Firms is Lesson of Evolutionary Biology
2 hours, 20 minutes ago - 43% of Law Firm Leaders Surveyed Expect to Hire Fewer New Associates
3 hours, 31 minutes ago - Lawyer Trainees at Cadwalader’s London Office Won’t Get Job Offers
3 hours, 59 minutes ago - Outsourcing Firms Hiring as More Complex Legal Work Goes to India
Nov 26, 2008, 12:26 pm CST
Related Topics
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
Comments
Posted by LINDA EVANSWOOD - 7 months, 4 weeks, 4 hours, 1 minute ago
I would be interested in reading more about this issue and have questions. Is the drop in global deal making due to U.S. corporations being cut out of the opportunity to participate in M&A due to corporations in other countries fearing or not trusting the U.S. legal system? Or is the drop in M&A due to the global economy? For a starting place, an ABA journalist could examine the overall global trend in M&A.
Posted by Christopher Shepard - 7 months, 4 weeks, 2 hours, 4 minutes ago
Is there an indication that M&A’s are down, or is it just that Large Law Firms in the U.S. have handled fewer of the M&A’s this year? Perhaps it is a combination of fewer M&A’s with American Corps. and a spread of the M&A practice to smaller firms and international firms?
Posted by RLawrence - 7 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 16 hours, 17 minutes ago
The “number of clients represented” would seem to be a partial view of the M&A story that certainly provides for a dramatic headline. Other sources reporting global M&A activity by value and the number of transactions for the first quarter, while evidencing a decline, do not seem to be accompanied by as much drama. While M&A activity is down, It is hard to draw a real conclusion as to the extent by viewing one statistic.