Larger bond issues but fewer of them—that's the general takeaway from New Jersey's public finance market this year, which again included a significant number of refinancings of existing government debt.

The list of active bond counsel included mostly familiar names, though the firms occupying the top two spots last year traded places: Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer of Woodbridge is No. 1, and McManimon, Scotland & Baumann of Roseland is No. 2.

According to data compiled by Thomson Reuters, there were 118 issues worth a combined $4.58 billion in the first half of 2017. That's a 7.3 percent increase in total value and a 31.8 percent decrease in the number of issues (from $4.28 billion and 173 issues last year).