Across corporate departments in Big Law, capital markets lawyers are seeing market conditions that appear similar to the lead-up to other recessions, while lawyers who handle high-yield bonds are seeing a large drop in business year-over-year. Still, corporate lawyers say they still have some pockets of sustained business, and some say they are not trimming their attorney ranks.

A slow deal period and market instability have seen banks write down over $1 billion in loans through the second fiscal quarter of 2022. Meanwhile, interest rates on high-yield bonds have shot up over 9% as investors seem less likely to take chances on debt financing and risky loans.