With consolidation and staff migrations, there was a fair amount of shake-up in the Thomson Financial structured finance legal league tables, when compared to the same period last year (see pages 21-23).
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe maintained its No. 1 ranking on the issuer side in both MBS ($18.9 billion) and ABS ($19.3 billion). In asset-backeds, Thatcher Proffitt & Wood has made a strong a push for the top seat, just $300 million shy of Orrick. Thatcher's $19 billion in the first half eclipses the firm's $7.2 billion in ABS issuer business during the first half of last year, when the firm was No. 5.
On the MBS issuer side, Orrick has gained market share compared to 2001, seesawing back-and-forth for the No. 1 spot with last year's first-half leader Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. Like Thatcher, Cadwalader was just $300 million shy of Orrick year-to-date.
Sidley Austin Brown & Wood, which was formed in early 2001 when Sidley Austin and Brown & Wood merged, is a strong No. 3 for issuers in both ABS and MBS, and the top counsel by a fair margin for underwriters across the board, including CMBS. Not surprisingly, McKee Nelson showed considerable market share versus this time last year, when the firm had just launched it ABS/MBS platform. During the second quarter, McKee began a massive ramp-up, marked by its opening of a New York office.
