Kirkland & Ellis emerged as the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal adviser in the US for 2021 by both value and volume, according to GlobalData, which noted that Kirkland & Ellis advised on 830 deals worth $457.4 billion. The leading data and analytics company revealed that a total of 14,152 M&A deals were announced in the country during 2021. Meanwhile, deal value increased by 63.1% from $1.2 trillion during 2020 to $1.9 trillion during 2021.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Kirkland & Ellis outpaced its peers by a significant margin, in terms of volume, as it was the only firm to advise on more than 800 deals during 2021. Moreover, it was also the only firm to surpass the $450 billion mark in deal value.”

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett occupied the second position in terms of value, with 213 deals worth $432.8 billion, followed by Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, with 95 deals worth $397.3 billion, Latham & Watkins, with 376 deals worth $329.2 billion and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, with 214 deals worth $325.2 billion.

Latham & Watkins also occupied the second position in terms of volume; followed by Willkie Farr & Gallagher, with 317 deals worth $151.9 billion; Jones Day, with 283 deals worth $107.5 billion; and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, with 230 deals worth $273.6 billion.