Kirkland & Ellis emerged as the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal adviser by both value and volume during the first three quarters (Q1-Q3) of 2026 in the latest Legal Advisers League Table by GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that Kirkland & Ellis achieved the top position having advised on 410 deals worth $515.7 billion.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Kirkland & Ellis was the top adviser by volume during Q1-Q3 2025 and continued to maintain its dominance in volume ranking chart during Q1-Q3 2026 as well. Moreover, its ranking by value improved from third to the top spot.

“While the total number of deals advised by Kirkland & Ellis remained the same during Q1-Q3 2026 compared to Q1-Q3 2025, there was a 25.1% growth in total deal value. During Q1-Q3 2026, it advised on 72 billion-dollar deals* that also included eight mega deals valued more than $10 billion. The involvement in these big-ticket deals helped Kirkland & Ellis register the jump in terms of value and secure the top spot by this metric.”

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $441.3 billion worth of deals followed by Sullivan & Cromwell with $407 billion, Latham & Watkins with $362.4 billion, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom with $289 billion.

Meanwhile, Latham & Watkins occupied the second position in terms of volume by advising on 375 deals followed by DLA Piper with 219 deals, White & Case with 209 deals, and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher with 165 deals.s

*Deals valued ≥ $1 billion