Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

In spite of the relative dearth of work flowing from Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP's traditionally strong high yield offering (in light of well-publicized difficult market conditions), the firm’s well-hedged practice, which also includes expertise on investment grade offerings, equity-linked offerings, as well as a robust liability management offering, has ensured that the firm has maintained solid deal flow for both issuers and underwriters. Team head Gerhard Radtke has been pivotal to the firm’s traditional high-yield prowess, developed over many years’ experience advising issuers from a range of sectors, including real estate. This degree of market-leading expertise has led to him being sought out by issuers on the rarer recent examples of work in the space (including within the TMT space), work which he combines with a broader practice that includes advice on Regulation S credit enhanced bond offerings, green bond offerings and advice in the context of program offerings. ‘Proactive and responsive’ counsel Bingqing Pan regularly works alongside Radtke on deals and has developed a strong reputation among both issuers and underwriters across high-yield, investment-grade and convertible bond offerings. Although he is perhaps better known for his equity work, James Lin also handles a fairly sizeable volume of debt work, including high-yield bond issuances and convertible bond mandates.