Q3 2025 proved to be anything but a lull for CLO lawyers, who faced not only a relentless flow of deals, but also the curveball of unexpected regulatory shifts arriving on a Friday afternoon during the heart of the European summer.

It wasn’t just deals keeping lawyers busy, but also professionals moving themselves. On 8 September, 9fin reported on Orrick poaching eight Cadwalader CLO partners across London, Washington DC and Charlotte.

Orrick later announced the move comprised 37 people across CLOs and ABL. It followed after four partners left Orrick’s structured finance practice in Europe and the US, to join Dechert and O'Melveny & Myers, respectively.

In the US, Proskauer announced it hired Jon Burke as a partner in its CLO practice, while on 1 August, McDermott Will & Emery closed its merger with Schulte, giving the law firm entry into CLOs.

Q3 rankings

In the US, it would be no stretch to imagine the CLO team at Paul Hastings running on little more than caffeine and adrenaline. The firm delivered a strong performance in the US BSL arranger counsel space, advising on a staggering $140.2bn year-to-date across 302 deals, far outpacing its peers. The firm has worked on a 38.6% share of all US BSL deals in 2025.

Cadwalader delivered a strong showing in second place, advising on $38.79bn across 88 transactions, while Mayer Brown rounded out the leading trio with 53 deals totalling $22.4bn.

In the US BSL manager counsel category, Milbank is the clear front-runner, advising on $80.69bn across 180 deals. Dechert followed with $50.94bn across 116 deals, trailed by Latham & Watkins at $26.14bn.

Over in Europe, Milbank also held its grip on the top of the manager counsel rankings, advising on €29.39bn across 72 deals in Q3. The firm’s consistent dominance was tracked by Paul Hastings and Cadwalader, who maintained their respective second and third-place finishes from the prior quarter.

In the European arranger counsel league tables, Cadwalader once again led the field, advising on €25.71bn across 62 deals. Paul Hastings followed with a solid €21.8bn from 53 transactions, while Latham & Watkins made a notable advance, climbing into the third position this quarter with €10.67bn, overtaking A&O Shearman, whose figures remained static quarter-on-quarter after losing partners to Latham & Watkins.

In the global mid-market space, Dechert continued to lead the manager counsel rankings, advising on $24.09bn across 34 deals, while Cadwalader took top honours on the arranger side, with $21.54bn across 35 mandates.

While Latham & Watkins and Schulte maintained their hold on the second and third positions in the mid-market manager counsel rankings, the arranger counsel segment saw a minor reshuffle. Paul Hastings retained a tight second place with $18.05bn across 31 deals, while DLA Piper ($1.62bn from two deals) and Proskauer ($0.65bn from one deal) stepped into third and fourth, edging out quarters Mayer Brown, which added $0.4bn from a single deal.