Dewey Ballantine’s London arm has scooped a long-term mandate from the Slovakian Government from under the noses of City firms Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Lovells and CMS Cameron McKenna.

The New York firm picked up the mandate to advise the Slovak Republic’s € 3bn (£1.98bn) Slovak Road Administration (SRA) in connection with the development and implementation of the entire Slovakian motorway programme last week.