When French banking giant Société Générale agreed earlier this week to pay $1.3 billion to settle multiple investigations, it wasn’t just the amount of the payout that caught my eye.

On closer inspection, it’s apparent that the deal took some highly skilled maneuvering by the bank’s lawyers from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Debevoise & Plimpton and Mayer Brown.