Kirkland & Ellis was the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal adviser in the technology, media, and telecom (TMT) sector during the first three quarters (Q1-Q3) of 2023 by value as well as volume, 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 data and analytics company reveals that Kirkland & Ellis achieved the leading position by advising on 86 deals worth $111.9 billion during Q1-Q3 2023.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Kirkland & Ellis outpaced its peers by a significant margin in terms of both deal volume and value during Q1-Q3 2023. It was the top adviser by volume in Q1-Q3 2022 and was also able to retain its leadership position by this metric in Q1-Q3 2023 as well.

“Meanwhile, despite experiencing a decline in deals volume akin to several other advisers, Kirkland & Ellis registered a significant jump in deal value in Q1-Q3 2023 compared to Q1-Q3 2022 due to its involvement in big-ticket deals. It advised on 20 billion-dollar deals*, which also included three mega deals valued more than $10 billion during Q1-Q3 2023. In fact, Kirkland & Ellis was the only adviser to surpass $100 billion in total deal value during Q1-Q3 2023.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that Latham & Watkins occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $70.3 billion worth of deals, followed by  Simpson Thacher & Bartlett with $70.2 billion, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom with $62.2 billion, and Cravath Swaine & Moore with $46.9 billion.

Meanwhile, Latham & Watkins occupied the second position in terms of volume with 47 deals, followed by White & Case with 47 deals, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati with 41 deals, and CMS with 36 deals.

*Deals value more than or equal to $1 billion