Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson and Kirkland & Ellis were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers in the North American region during the first quarter (Q1) of 2026 by value and volume, respectively according to the latest legal advisers league table by GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson achieved the leading position in terms of value by advising on $151.5 billion worth of deals. Meanwhile, Kirkland & Ellis led in terms of volume by advising on a total of 129 deals.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Kirkland & Ellis was the clear winner by volume in Q1 2026, outpacing its peers by a significant margin. It was the only firm with triple-digit deal volume during the quarter. Moreover, the global law firm advised on 20 billion-dollar deals in Q1 2026 and involvement in these big-ticket deals helped it occupy the fifth position by value as well.

“Meanwhile, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson advised on much lesser number of deals but still managed to top the chart by value primarily driven by its involvement in three mega deals valued more than $10 billion. In fact, there was more than a three-fold jump in the total value of deals advised by the international law firm . Resultantly, it went ahead from occupying the eighth position by value in Q1 2025 to top the chart by this metric in Q1 2026.”

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $141.6 billion worth of deals, followed by Sullivan & Cromwell with $121.4 billion, Latham & Watkins with $114.2 billion and Kirkland & Ellis with $110.3 billion.

Meanwhile, Latham & Watkins occupied the second position in terms of volume with 72 deals, followed by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison with 48 deals, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher with 41 deals and Ropes & Gray with 35 deals.

*Deals valued ≥ $1 billion