Cadwalader Capital Markets Co-Chairs Michael Gambro and Stuart Goldstein spoke with Commercial Mortgage Alert about the firm's quarter-century run atop the U.S. commercial mortgage securitizations rankings continuing through the first half of 2025, published today.
The article, "Cadwalader Tops CMBS Counsel Race," noted that "Cadwalader maintained a commanding lead in the CMBS issuer counsel race during the first half, while its competitors saw little movement in the ranking from a year ago."
Noting that the quickening pace of CMBS and CRE CLO issuances hasn't made an impact on league tables, " ... Cadwalader, which has led the issuer counsel ranking every year since 2000, once again came out on top. It worked on nearly half of the CMBS offerings that priced in the first six months of the year, with 38 deals totaling $26.34 billion, according to Commercial Mortgage Alert's CMBS Database."
Given Cadwalader's pace of activity, the publication noted the firm has been continuing to hire "so that we do not turn away work," said Mike. "We don't see much end in sight right now."
Stu, who shared his views on a hot market, told Commercial Mortgage Alert he believes there will be a shift toward private credit that will drive more demand for CRE CLO issuance. "CRE CLO and back leverage will be increasingly important to fuel the growth of bridge lending and private debt funds," he said, adding that Cadwalader has a "deep bench" in these areas.
News of Cadwalader leading the league tables comes on the heels of a midyear report from Managing Partner Pat Quinn that details the firm's overall strong first-half results, pacing Cadwalader ahead of its record financial performance in 2024; and the related investment in lateral legal talent, including new hires in the firm's Real Estate practice.
Read the league table article here (subscription required).