Kirkland & Ellis and Weil, Gotshal & Manges were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers in the automotive sector 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 leading position in terms of value by advising on $3.4 billion worth of deals. Meanwhile, Weil, Gotshal & Manges led in terms of volume by advising on six deals.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “There was an improvement in the total number of deals advised by Weil, Gotshal & Manges in H1 2026 compared to H1 2025, and its ranking by volume also jumped from 22^nd position to the top spot. It also held the ninth position by value in H1 2026.

“Meanwhile, two of the three deals advised by Kirkland & Ellis during H1 2026 were billion-dollar deals* and involvement in these big-ticket deals helped it occupy the top position by value.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Deals Database reveals that Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $2.1 billion worth of deals, followed by Baker McKenzie with $2.1 billion, JSA Legal with $986.9 million, and AZB & Partners with $367.7 million.

Meanwhile, White & Case occupied the second position in terms of volume with five deals, followed by Kirkland & Ellis with three deals, TriLegal with three deals, and Hogan Lovells with three deals.

*Deals valued more than or equal to $1 billion