Directors & Boards readers ranked Shearman & Sterling as one of the top corporate governance law firms in the categories “best in dealing with board-level M&A issues" and “best in dealing with general corporate governance issues” in the publication’s seventh annual survey.

The firm was ranked No. 3 in the board-level M&A category and No. 7 in general corporate governance in the 2014 survey, which asked directors to name up to three law firms that they considered top of the class in critical corporate governance areas.

“This has been a very strong M&A market, and boards are actively involved in strategic transactions,” said George Casey, a Shearman & Sterling partner and global head of M&A. “We are very pleased that our work with companies, their boards and board special committees in their most sensitive, high-impact M&A transactions is reflected in these rankings.”

Added John Cannon, a Shearman & Sterling partner and one of the leaders of the firm’s corporate governance practice, “We greatly appreciate this important recognition from directors. We regularly provide legal counsel to our clients on their most critical corporate governance challenges—all at a time when shareholder activism, new regulatory guidelines and other factors are creating new challenges for boards and board members.”