Kirkland & Ellis was the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal adviser in the North America region during the first half (H1) of 2024 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 has revealed that Kirkland & Ellis achieved this leading position by advising on 225 deals worth $165.6 billion.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Kirkland & Ellis was the top adviser by volume in H1 2023 and managed to retain its leadership position by this metric in H1 2024 as well. Not only was Kirkland & Ellis the only firm to hit triple-digit deal volume in H1 2024, but it was also well ahead of its peers, outpacing them by a big margin.

“Meanwhile, its ranking in terms of value jumped from fourth position in H1 2023 to the top spot in H1 2024. Kirkland & Ellis advised on 31 billion-dollar deals*, which also included six mega deals valued at more than $10 billion during H1 2024. Involvement in these big-ticket deals helped Kirkland & Ellis register improvements in the total value of deals advised by it as well as its ranking in terms of value.”

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $164.6 billion worth of deals, followed by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison with $152.9 billion, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz with $146.6 billion, and Latham & Watkins with $113.1 billion.

Meanwhile, Latham & Watkins occupied the second position in terms of volume with 69 deals, followed by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher with 65 deals, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison with 59 deals, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett with 53 deals.

*Deals valued ≥ $1 billion