Cadwalader Dominates Midyear Commercial MBS Legal Advisory Rankings Again in 2019

July 29, 2019

Cadwalader is again ranked at the top of the midyear commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) tables published by Commercial Mortgage Alert. The firm is ranked No. 1 as both “Issuer Counsel” and “Underwriter Counsel” through June 30. Cadwalader has been ranked first in the issuer counsel category for 19 consecutive years.

Commercial Mortgage Alert notes that Cadwalader advised issuers on 38 of the 66 U.S. offerings floated in the first half of 2019, representing 58 percent of such representations. On the underwriter side, Cadwalader advised on 29 CMBS transactions, or 44 percent of the available assignments.

“We work with great clients who expect us to provide top-notch advice and service, and we are fortunate to have the results reflected in our position in the law firm rankings for so many years,” said Mike Gambro, co-chair of Cadwalader’s Capital Markets Group.

The firm is especially active in the market for commercial real estate collateralized loan obligations (CRE CLOs), which are utilized to securitize mortgage loans. Cadwalader advised on 10 of the 14 CRE CLO transactions that priced in the first half of the year, valued at $6.5 billion.

“Our deep bench and unmatched experience with commercial real estate securitization puts us in a unique position to advise CRE CLO issuers,” said Stuart Goldstein, co-head of the Capital Markets Practice. “It’s imperative that we provide clients with in-depth market knowledge.”

The firm’s Capital Markets Group includes lawyers in New York, Charlotte, Washington, D.C., and London. The team advises investment banks, issuers, funds and private equity sponsors in structuring and executing transactions across a broad array of structured products and asset classes, including ABS, CLOs, CMBS, CRE CLOs, RMBS, structured workout financings and whole loan sales.

Earlier this year, Cadwalader was named “Structured Finance and Securitization Team of the Year” for the Americas by IFLR. The firm also earned “Deal of the Year” honors for its innovative work advising Marathon Asset Management on the structuring of its CRE CLO.