Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Freehills, Blake Dawson and Allens Arthur Robinson have topped Bloomberg's M&A league tables with respect to deal value for the first half of 2009.

Mallesons came in first with US$8.8bn (A$11.2bn), closely followed by Freehills and Blakes. Baker & McKenzie, Gilbert + Tobin and Allens were also strong contenders.

Mallesons partner Meredith Paynter was excited to see the results and believes they reflect resilience in the M&A space. "It's a great result and indicator of the work we are doing with clients across the board, including the Kirin-Lion Nathan takeover bid (A$6.5bn), Hunan Valin-Fortescue investment (A$1.2bn) and Chinalco-Rio Tinto failed US$19.5bn (A$25bn) stake acquisition. Although the M&A market is challenging and transactions are lumpy, there is still cross-border investor interest from China, Japan and others, where clients have cash and can acquire at favourable prices," she said.

When compared to the same period in 2008, overall deal values and volumes for the first half of 2009 were significantly lower, noted Freehills partner Rebecca Maslen-Stannage. "Last year we had a lot more M&A activity. We acted on the Viterra-ABB takeover (A$1.2bn), Santos capital raising (A$3bn) and NAB-Aviva acquisition (A$825m). The market has become increasingly challenging, but this quarter there was a slight up-tick in work, so we hope to see a much stronger M&A market," she said.

Paynter believes the drop in deal count is a reflection of fewer deals reaching completion. She points to fewer "forced sales" taking place and more careful consideration on the part of sellers, such as Asciano, which decided against selling and opted to raise A$2bn instead.

When compared to the same period last year the biggest winners were Johnson Winter & Slattery, which jumped through the ranks from 44th to ninth, and Bakers, which moved from 22nd to fifth. Allens, Deacons and Corrs Chambers Westgarth experienced a slight drop in rank. Paynter suggested that the jump in deal counts and volumes among mid-tiers may be partly due to fewer completed deals and a "drift" towards mid tier firms for "less complex" work. However, Maslen-Stannage believes that top tiers will still stay ahead of their mid-tier peers. "In a difficult market clients tend to turn to experienced M&A lawyers, because deals become harder to execute. Clients want lawyers with depth and good cross-border experience, and we feel that a challenging market is advantageous for us," she said.