By Andrea Heisinger
New York, March 5 - Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP was the top counsel for underwriters of investment-grade bonds in February, according to data compiled by Prospect News.
For issuer's counsel, use of an in-house attorney ranked first, but Sullivan & Cromwell LLP placed first when external law firms were used.
Davis Polk was the top legal adviser for underwriters for the investment-grade market as a whole while Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP was in first place if emerging markets deals are excluded and only issuers based in the United States are looked at.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP was second for the market as a whole, and Davis Polk took the No. 2 spot if emerging markets are excluded.
The situation is similar for advisers to issuers. A little less than a quarter of deals relied on in-house expertise, rising to nearly a third for U.S. issuers.
The tables cover investment-grade 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 |
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| 1 | Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP | 25.799 | 29 | 11.83% |
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| 2 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP | 19.539 | 19 | 8.96% |
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| 3 | Sullivan & Cromwell LLP | 17.218 | 18 | 7.90% |
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| 4 | Shearman & Sterling LLP | 13.898 | 18 | 6.37% |
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| 5 | Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP | 11.229 | 10 | 5.15% |
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| 6 | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP | 9.731 | 9 | 4.46% |
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| 7 | Sidley Austin LLP | 9.698 | 14 | 4.45% |
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| 8 | O'Melveny & Myers LLP | 5.032 | 9 | 2.31% |
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| 9 | Hengeler Mueller Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten | 3.744 | 2 | 1.72% |
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| 10 | Mattos Filho Veiga Filho Marrey Jr. e Quiroga Advogados | 3.626 | 4 | 1.66% |
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| Total | 218.011 | 252 |
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| Underwriter's counsel, U.S. market, U.S. issuers, year to date |
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| Underwriter's counsel | Amount | No. | Share |
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| 1 | Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP | 10.736 | 9 | 10.31% |
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| 2 | Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP | 9.822 | 15 | 9.44% |
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| 3 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP | 7.283 | 10 | 7.00% |
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| 4 | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP | 6.496 | 6 | 6.24% |
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| 5 | Sullivan & Cromwell LLP | 6.241 | 12 | 5.99% |
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| 6 | Sidley Austin LLP | 4.480 | 9 | 4.30% |
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| 7 | Shearman & Sterling LLP | 3.786 | 8 | 3.64% |
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| 8 | Jones Day | 2.745 | 3 | 2.64% |
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| 9 | Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP | 2.568 | 4 | 2.47% |
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| 10 | Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP | 2.319 | 6 | 2.23% |
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| Total | 104.099 | 145 |
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| Issuer's counsel, U.S. market, all issuers, year to date |
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| Issuer's counsel | Amount | No. | Share |
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| 1 | In house | 50.976 | 73 | 23.38% |
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| 2 | Sullivan & Cromwell LLP | 15.346 | 10 | 7.04% |
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| 3 | Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP | 7.921 | 12 | 3.63% |
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| 4 | Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP | 7.557 | 14 | 3.47% |
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| 5 | Hogan Lovells International LLP | 7.000 | 4 | 3.21% |
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| 6 | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP | 6.640 | 12 | 3.04% |
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| 7 | Shearman & Sterling LLP | 4.540 | 9 | 2.08% |
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| 8 | McGuireWoods LLP | 4.213 | 4 | 1.93% |
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| 9 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP | 3.984 | 2 | 1.83% |
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| 10 | Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP | 3.496 | 4 | 1.60% |
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| Total | 218.011 | 252 |
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| Issuer's counsel, U.S. market, U.S. issuers, year to date |
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| Issuer's counsel | Amount | No. | Share |
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| 1 | In house | 29.444 | 50 | 28.28% |
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| 2 | Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP | 7.624 | 12 | 7.33% |
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| 3 | Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP | 5.364 | 10 | 5.15% |
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| 4 | Sullivan & Cromwell LLP | 4.500 | 2 | 4.32% |
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| 5 | McGuireWoods LLP | 4.213 | 4 | 4.05% |
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| 6 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP | 3.984 | 2 | 3.83% |
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| 7 | Squire Sanders & Dempsey (US) LLP | 1.999 | 2 | 1.92% |
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| 8 | Latham & Watkins LLP | 1.994 | 2 | 1.92% |
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| 9 | Munger Tolles & Olson LLP | 1.698 | 2 | 1.63% |
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| 10 | Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP | 1.593 | 3 | 1.53% |
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| Total | 104.099 | 145 |
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| Prospect News Investment Grade Rankings
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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 and preferred stock are excluded.
• Minimum $75 million deal size.
• Deals rated investment grade by either Standard & Poor's or Moody's Investors Service 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.
• Remarketings are excluded.
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