Kirkland & Ellis and A&O Shearman were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers in Middle East & Africa during the first half (H1) of 2026 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 Financial Deals Database, the leading intelligence and productivity platform revealed that Kirkland & Ellis achieved the top position in terms of value by advising on $33.4 billion worth of deals. Meanwhile, A&O Shearman led in terms of volume by advising on a total of eight deals.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The total number of deals advised by A&O Shearman doubled in H1 2026 compared to H1 2025 and its ranking by volume improved from sixth position to the top position.

“Meanwhile, the total number of deals advised by Kirkland & Ellis remained the same in H1 2025 and H1 2026, but the total deal value increased significantly, driven by its involvement in the $33.4 billion deal for the acquisition of AES by a consortium of acquirers. Kirkland & Ellis went ahead from occupying the 21^st position by value in H1 2025 to the top the chart by this metric in H1 2026.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Deals Database reveals that A&O Shearman occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $8.2 billion worth of deals, followed by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer with $6.2 billion, Meitars Law Offices with $5.9 billion, and Cravath Swaine & Moore with $4.7 billion.

Meanwhile, White & Case occupied the second position in terms of volume with seven deals, followed by Baker McKenzie with five deals, Meitar Law Offices with four deals, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom with four deals.