Cahill Gordon top high-yield underwriter's counsel; Sullivan & Cromwell top issuer's counsel

New York, Aug. 5 - Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP was the number one underwriter's counsel for high-yield bonds for the year through July, according to data compiled by Prospect News.

For issuer's counsel, in-house attorneys were the most popular source of advice. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP placed first for deals with an external legal adviser.

Cahill has topped the year-to-date rankings for every month this year apart from January. Similarly, Sullivan & Cromwell has led for the past three months for advice to issuers.

Among underwriter's counsel, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP moved up to second place, pushing Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP into third.

For issuers, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP continued in third place, unchanged from the month before.

The tables cover high-yield bond deals offered in the United States via a registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission or under Rule 144A. The identity of legal advisers was not available for all deals, particularly those from emerging markets issuers.

Underwriter's counsel, U.S. market, all issuers, year to date

	Underwriter's counsel	Amount	No.	Share
1	Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP	49.429	82	27.46%
2	Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP	14.979	29	8.32%
3	Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP	13.443	20	7.47%
4	Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP	8.755	14	4.86%
5	Shearman & Sterling LLP	8.240	16	4.58%
6	Latham & Watkins LLP	5.700	14	3.17%
7	Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP	2.631	7	1.46%
8	Baker Botts LLP	2.587	8	1.44%
9	Andrews Kurth LLP	2.351	5	1.31%
10	Vinson & Elkins LLP	1.431	4	0.80%
	Total	179.986	385
Underwriter's counsel, U.S. market, U.S. issuers, year to date
	Underwriter's counsel	Amount	No.	Share
1	Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP	46.002	74	32.49%
2	Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP	11.900	24	8.41%
3	Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP	7.241	12	5.11%
4	Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP	7.051	12	4.98%
5	Shearman & Sterling LLP	5.950	12	4.20%
6	Latham & Watkins LLP	5.700	14	4.03%
7	Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP	2.631	7	1.86%
8	Baker Botts LLP	2.587	8	1.83%
9	Andrews Kurth LLP	2.351	5	1.66%
10	Vinson & Elkins LLP	1.431	4	1.01%
	Total	141.578	299
Issuer's counsel, U.S. market, all issuers, year to date
	Issuer's counsel	Amount	No.	Share
1	In house	7.803	25	4.34%
2	Sullivan & Cromwell LLP	6.950	6	3.86%
3	Debevoise & Plimpton LLP	4.627	10	2.57%
4	Vinson & Elkins LLP	4.606	16	2.56%
5	Shearman & Sterling LLP	4.567	9	2.54%
6	Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP	3.987	10	2.21%
7	Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP	3.836	6	2.13%
8	Kirkland & Ellis LLP	3.602	8	2.00%
9	Baker Botts LLP	2.996	7	1.66%
10	Bracewell & Giuliani LLP	2.102	3	1.17%
	Total	179.986	385
Issuer's counsel, U.S. market, U.S. issuers, year to date
	Issuer's counsel	Amount	No.	Share
1	In house	7.803	25	5.51%
2	Sullivan & Cromwell LLP	6.950	6	4.91%
3	Vinson & Elkins LLP	4.508	15	3.18%
4	Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP	3.836	6	2.71%
5	Kirkland & Ellis LLP	3.602	8	2.54%
6	Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP	3.289	8	2.32%
7	Baker Botts LLP	2.996	7	2.12%
8	Debevoise & Plimpton LLP	2.877	7	2.03%
9	Bracewell & Giuliani LLP	2.102	3	1.48%
10	Shearman & Sterling LLP	2.091	4	1.48%
	Total	141.578	299
Prospect News High Yield Counsel Rankings

Criteria

• The tables include all underwritten dollar-denominated offerings sold in the United States as public or Rule 144A deals reported to Prospect News.

• Convertibles, trust preferreds, capital securities and preferred stock are excluded.

• Deals rated investment grade by either Standard & Poor's or Moody's Investors Service are excluded, but deals not rated by both are included.

• Offerings are included in the time period in which they price.

• Amounts are based on the total sales price (face amount multiplied by the offering price). The full amount is credited to the issuer's counsel or underwriter's counsel. For multiple firms, the total value is divided equally.

• Units made up of a bond and a warrant are included; other units are excluded.

• Sovereign issues are excluded.

• Each tranche is counted as a separate deal.

• Passthroughs, collateral trust and equipment trust certificates are included.

• Best efforts and non-underwritten deals are excluded as are remarketings.

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