Allen & Overy (A&O) has topped the closely-watched global project finance league tables, storming ahead of rivals in both value and volume rankings.

The 2007 Infrastructure Journal tables for legal advisers on global project finance deals show A&O leading the way after advising on 82 deals with a combined value of $68bn (£34.2bn).

Clifford Chance (CC) came second with 58 deals, valued at $53.7bn (£27bn), while US giant White & Case climbed to third place by value with 34 deals worth $47.2bn (£23.7bn).

A&O secured a 9.6% market share over the 12-month period and acted on high-profile projects including Mexico's $4.28bn (£2.2bn) FARAC toll roads project and Belgium's $484m (£243.7m) Diabolo airport rail link.

Meanwhile, CC acted on big-ticket projects such as €1.03bn (£763m) renewables refinancing of Babcock & Brown Wind Partner's global wind farm portfolio.

The rankings will come as a boost to A&O, which lost its heavy-weight projects head Graham Vinter in October when he left to become the general counsel at energy giant BG Group. He was replaced by partner Anne Baldock (pictured). In 2006, A&O finished third behind Linklaters and CC, which topped the table.

Infrastructure Journal editor Angus Leslie Melville said the market had remained resilient in the second half of 2007 despite the liquidity crisis and that the same clutch of law firms were still dominating the market.

Speaking to Legal Week, Melville said: "A&O has had an aggressive drive in global projects and that will come as a relief having had Graham Vinter stand down. Under Anne, the firm has been very visible, both on the big-ticket transactions and in terms of volume."

Baldock commented: "The market has broadened out into the fields of energy and infrastructure and because we act as an integrated team it has been especially rewarding."

Firms to have slipped down the table include Shearman & Sterling, which dropped to fifth place with 30 deals worth $29.6bn (£14.9bn), and Linklaters, which slipped to fourth place by deal value with 55 deals worth $44.3bn (£22.3bn).

On Western European projects rankings, CC topped the tables followed by Linklaters and A&O.

CC head of projects Andrew Grenville predicted that the next year would see a rise in the number of renewables projects. He commented: "Short of a global recession I predict that 2008 will see demand for new infrastructure remain strong as projects are still being held up not by a lack of demand, but by a supply chain shortage."

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