Kirkland & Ellis was the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal adviser in North America during the first half (H1) of 2025 by both value and volume, according to the latest legal advisers league table by GlobalData, , a leading data and analytics company.
An analysis of GlobalData’s Deals Database revealed that Kirkland & Ellis achieved this leading position by advising on 197 deals worth $161.7 billion.
Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Not only was Kirkland & Ellis the only adviser with triple-digit deal volume in H1 2025 but was also significantly way ahead of its peers in terms of volume. Despite registering a year-on-year decline in the total value of deals advised by it during H1 2025, Kirkland & Ellis also outpaced its peers in terms of value by a notable margin due to the involvement in some big-ticket deals. During H1 2025, Kirkland & Ellis advised on 30 billion-dollar deals* that also included five mega deals valued more than $10 billion.”
Latham & Watkins occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $147.5 billion worth of deals, followed by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz with $137.7 billion, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison with $124.8 billion and Cravath Swaine & Moore with $120.9 billion.
Meanwhile, Latham & Watkins occupied the second position in terms of volume with 99 deals, followed by Ropes & Gray with 69 deals, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher with 65 deals and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison with 64 deals.
* ≥ $1 billion
