Update, 2/4/13, 7 p.m. EDT: Additional Skadden lawyers who advised MetLife on its recent deal, as well as the firm’s history with the insurance company, have been added to the fourth paragraph below.

On the heels of a year in which it claimed the top spot on three separate rankings of M&A legal advisers based on the total value of their corporate clients’ M&A transactions, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom had a hand in two major transactions this week to help get 2013 off to a strong start.