new york: firms leading the packSullivan & Cromwell has stayed in pole position in the US M&A tables for the first half of 2004, with corporate stalwarts Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Cravath Swaine & Moore both surging up the table.

Sullivan kept the top place, which it secured in the first quarter, by advising on 45 deals worth $154.3bn (£84.3bn), up 308% from the corresponding period in 2003, according to Thomson Financial.