Some firms are not following the downward trend in all areas of law firm life. For instance, a few U.S. law firms did not follow the downward spiral of merger and acquisition deals worldwide. The value of reported deals fell 29.4 percent, from $578 billion in the first quarter of 2008, to $408 billion in the first quarter of 2009. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom jumped from third place to first place, with $169 billion dollars in M&A deals. Wachtell made a drastic move from 21st place to 2nd place, with a total of nine deals totaling almost $125 billion dollars.
Source: http://www.nylj.com/nylawyer/news/09/04/040609h.html
