While no one would confuse the level of corporate work in 2010 for the heyday of 2007, last year’s slow economic recovery was reflected in our latest Corporate Scorecard rankings. Equities work, spurred mostly by large Chinese and Brazilian offerings, rebounded late in the year, and M&A and private equity work picked up too.
Debt offerings rose, especially in the high-yield sector, due to the continuation of record low interest rates and the refinancing of corporate debt that had been scheduled to mature in 2013. Even asset- and mortgage-backed securities work showed healthy increases over 2009 levels. And municipal bond lawyers racked up a record year, thanks to issuances of Build America Bonds under the federal stimulus act.
