Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson and Kirkland & Ellis have emerged as the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers by value and volume, respectively, during the first quarter (Q1) of 2026 in the latest Legal Advisers League Table by GlobalData, which ranks legal advisers by the value and volume of mergers and acquisition (M&A) deals on which they advised.
Based on its Financial Deals Database, the leading intelligence and productivity platform revealed that Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson achieved its leading position in the deal value rankings by advising on $168.2 billion worth of deals. Meanwhile, Kirkland & Ellis led in terms of volume by advising on a total of 139 deals.
Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins were among the only two advisers with triple-digit deal volume during Q1 2026. However, Kirkland & Ellis was well ahead, securing the top spot, while Latham & Watkins occupied second spot with 105 deals. Notably, the number of deals advised by Kirkland & Ellis increased by 14.9% in Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025, and its ranking by volume also improved from second to first. Apart from leading by volume, Kirkland & Ellis also occupied the fifth position by value.
“Meanwhile, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson registered more than a three-fold jump in the total value of deals advised by it during Q1 2026 compared to Q1 2025. As a result, its ranking by value jumped from the 12th position to the top spot. Thirteen of the 20 deals advised by it during Q1 2026 were billion-dollar deals*, including three mega deals valued more than $10 billion. Its involvement in these big-ticket deals helped Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson register the massive jump in terms of value and secure the top spot as well.”
An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $157.2 billion worth of deals followed by Latham & Watkins with $140.4 billion, and Sullivan & Cromwell with $136.7 billion.
Meanwhile, CMS occupied the third position in terms of volume by advising on 58 deals followed by White & Case with 55 deals, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison with 52 deals. *Deals valued more than or equal to $1 billion
