Dominic Frederico is a loyal consumer of advisory services. The CEO of Assured Guaranty Ltd. tapped Edward Best of Mayer Brown LLP and Tony Ursano from Banc of America Securities LLC for advice on Assured's $722 million agreement to acquire the insurance business of Financial Security Assurance Holdings Ltd. from Dexia NV/SA.

Before taking the helm at Assured Guaranty in 2003, Frederico was the chairman of ACE Financial Services Inc., which Best advised on its 1993 IPO. He also advised ACE on its $3.45 billion acquisition of Cigna Corp.'s international and domestic property and casualty businesses in 1999, as did Ursano, who was then at Merrill Lynch & Co. but moved to BofA the same year.

Best also represented ACE in the 2004 spinoff of Assured Guaranty, which he has continued to advise.

He handled the legal work for the insurer earlier this year on WL Ross & Co. LLC's investment. Wilbur Ross's investment vehicle then tapped longtime counsel Jones Day's Robert Profusek and John Kane on that deal and the Dexia transactions.

Dexia is using Laurent Legein, Michael Mazzuchi and Neil Whoriskey of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. Legein led the team that advised Dexia on its €6.4 billion ($8.1 billion) bailout earlier this fall.

Dexia is using Mike Millette and Alexander Schneider of Goldman, Sachs & Co. for banking advice.