City trio muscle in on US domination with project success

City law firms have beaten off competition from US rivals to top the global project finance work league tables, a survey has shown.The American Lawyers annual corporate scorecard placed Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy first and second by number of financings in 2000 (45 and 37), while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was top by value (19 deals worth $21 billion).

Last year, US firm Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy topped both tables.Linklaters 23 projects, worth $3.7 billion, pushed it to fifth on number and 12th on value, compared to 10th and 18th last year.

By contrast, City firm Norton Rose fell from seventh to 12th on number and fifth to 19th on value, with 16 deals worth $1.9 billion.

In the table of advisers in $150 million-plus merger and acquisition deals involving at least one US party, Slaughters was the top non-US firm, placed 14th with $54 billion worth of deals.

Allen & Overy (28th) and Freshfields (33rd) were the only other non-US firms featured.More commercial news on page 6