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Best Law Firms List Out – Wachtell Not #1

Second Quarter 2009Corporate Board Member magazine and FTI Consulting have released the latest edition of their annual survey of the top corporate law departments, as voted by 300 directors surveyed.

Skadden is #1 for the ninth year in a row. Wachtell’s rank and some observations, after the jump.

Jones Day, which I don’t recall doing anything of note on the corporate governance front this year (although three years ago they did help a board fight off pirates – literally), jumped from #7 to #2, bumping Cravath and Wachtell one spot each. Sullivan & Cromwell held steady at #5.

Cravath is Cravath, so whatever, but Wachtell is out there writing letters to the Wall Street Journal to help management remain entrenched, and all they get is a lousy fourth? What color ribbon does that even get?

Another odd result is Wilson Sonsini’s coming in at #14 for the second year, so apparently they’ve been forgiven for the HP debacle.

Sidley (#15) and Fried Frank (#20) came onto the list, bumping Simpson Thacher and Akin Gump. Last I checked, Simpson’s John Finley was alive and kicking, writing and speaking frequently on matters of interest to boards, so I don’t know how he doesn’t singlehandedly merit the firm taking a top spot on the list.

Thoughts on the other honorees and omissions?

Related posts:

  1. Wachtell Dumped
  2. M&A Rankings Out – Wachtell #1 (and Not #1)
  3. Reading List for Deal Lawyers
  4. Survey Identifies Most-Arrogant Firms
  5. Did Wachtell Really Get UBS a Good Deal?

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