Latham & Watkins and CMS were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers in Europe during 2025 by value and volume, respectively, according to the latest legal advisers league table by GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.

GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database has revealed that Latham & Watkins achieved its leading position in terms of value by advising on $103.9 billion worth of deals. Meanwhile, CMS led in terms of volume by advising on a total of 286 deals.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Latham & Watkins and CMS were the clear winners in 2025, having outpaced their peers by a significant margin in terms of value and volume, respectively. While Latham & Watkins was the only adviser to surpass $100 billion mark in deal value, CMS just fell shy from hitting 300 in deal volume.

“Involvement in three mega deals valued at or more than $10 billion played a pivotal role in placing Latham & Watkins in the top spot by value in 2025.  It also held the fourth position by volume in 2025.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Deals Database reveals that A&O Shearman occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $83.1 billion worth of deals, followed by White & Case with $65.6 billion, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom with $65.6 billion, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer with $42.6 billion.

Meanwhile, White & Case occupied the second position in terms of volume with 169 deals, followed by DLA Piper with 165 deals, Latham & Watkins with 148 deals, and A&O Shearman with 135 deals.