The magazine’s annual Dealmakers of the Year list shows Boardman, who has been a partner with Slaughters since 1982 after joining the firm in 1973, to be the sole
He joins the likes of Shearman & Sterling partner Stephen Besen, who advised on the $11.6bn (£5.9bn) SABIC takeover of GE Plastics; as well as Sullivan & Cromwell partner James Morphy.
Boardman has worked on a series of high-profile deals in recent months, including the £9bn merger of Reuters and Thomson Financial.
In addition, he also has an ongoing lead role in BHP Billiton’s £67bn bid for Anglo-Australian rival Rio Tinto, on which he is advising BHP.
Commenting on his position in the rankings, Boardman told Legal Week: “It is nice for the people who worked with me to also get this recognition. Those two deals were the stand-out deals and they both had a strong
"For BHP/Rio, apart from the enormous size of the deal, the special feature is that both are dual-listed companies (DLC). This was the first unrecommended bid for a DLC.”
Other lawyers and teams to feature in the AmLaw list include Sullivan & Cromwell’s banking team, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s Kohlberg Kravis Roberts’ team, which was ranked for its private equity work, and Mayer Brown partner Barry Machlin, who is featured for project finance work.
Partners at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, Simpson Thacher and Davis Polk & Wardwell were noted for their work on initial public offerings, while Bruce Zirinsky at Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft was cited for his bankruptcy work. Jenner & Block partner Joseph Gromaki and Sidley Austin partner Thomas Cole also feature for M&A.
The list of top lawyers is published in AmLaw’s April Edition, alongside the title’s closely-watched Corporate Scorecard.
