Cravath Swaine & Moore and Kirkland & Ellis were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers in the technology, media and telecom sector during the first half (H1) of 2025 by value and volume, respectively, according to the latest legal advisers league table by GlobalData, which ranks legal advisers by the value and volume of M&A deals on which they advised.

Based on its Deals Database, the leading data and analytics company has revealed that Cravath Swaine & Moore achieved its leading position in terms of value by advising on $51.8 billion worth of deals. Meanwhile, Kirkland & Ellis led in terms of volume by advising on a total of 58 deals.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Cravath Swaine & Moore, which led by value in H1 2025, was not even among the top 10 by this metric in H1 2024. Due to involvement in big-ticket deals, it registered more than a four-fold jump in the total value of deals advised by it in H1 2025 compared to H1 2024. This helped Cravath Swaine & Moore secure the top spot by value. During H1 2025, Cravath Swaine & Moore advised on seven billion-dollar deals* that also included a mega deal worth more than $30 billion.

“Meanwhile, Kirkland & Ellis was the top adviser by deal volume in H1 2024 and managed to retain its leadership position by this metric in H1 2025 as well. Apart from leading by volume, Kirkland & Ellis also held the seventh position in terms of value in H1 2025.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Deals Database reveals that Latham & Watkins occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $49.8 billion worth of deals, followed by Fenwick & West with $44 billion, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz with $42.8 billion, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison with $37.4 billion.

Meanwhile, Latham & Watkins occupied the second position in terms of volume with 44 deals, followed by CMS with 36 deals, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati with 35 deals, and DLA Piper with 29 deals.

*Valued more than or equal to $1 billion