Kirkland & Ellis was the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal adviser in the North American region during the first half (H1) of 2026 by both value and volume, 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 Kirkland & Ellis achieved this top position by advising on 245 deals worth $367.7 billion.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Kirkland & Ellis was the top adviser by volume in H1 2025 and managed to retain its leadership position by this metric in H1 2026 as well while its ranking by value improved from the third position to the top position during this period.

“Due to the involvement in some big-ticket deals, the total value of deals advised by Kirkland & Ellis almost doubled in H1 2026 compared to H1 2025, which helped it top the table. During H1 2026, Kirkland & Ellis advised on 46 billion-dollar deals* that also included five mega deals valued more than $10 billion.”

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $294.7 billion worth of deals, followed by Sullivan & Cromwell with $273.9 billion, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom with $186 billion and Latham & Watkins with $173.5 billion.

Meanwhile, Latham & Watkins occupied the second position in terms of volume with 162 deals, followed by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison with 95 deals, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher with 88 deals and Ropes & Gray with 72 deals.*Deals valued ≥ $1 billion