Norton Rose Fulbright and Kirkland & Ellis were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers in the oil & gas sector during the first quarter (Q1) of 2025 by value and volume, respectively, 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 Deals Database, the leading data and analytics company has revealed that Norton Rose Fulbright achieved its leading position in terms of value by advising on $11 billion worth of deals. Meanwhile, Kirkland & Ellis led in terms of volume by advising on a total of 12 deals.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Kirkland & Ellis was the only adviser to hit double-digit deal volume during Q1 2025. Apart from leading by volume in Q1 2025, Kirkland & Ellis also held the fourth position by value.

“Meanwhile, Norton Rose Fulbright advised on a much lesser number of deals but still managed to lead by value in Q1 2025, primarily due to its involvement in the $10.4 billion Whitecap Resources-Veren merger deal. Apart from leading by value in Q1 2025, Norton Rose Fulbright also occupied the sixth position by volume.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Deals Database reveals that Burnet Duckworth & Palmer occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $10.6 billion worth of deals, followed by Blake Cassels & Graydon with $10.4 billion, Kirkland & Ellis with $10.4 billion, and Vinson & Elkins with $6.6 billion.

Meanwhile, Vinson & Elkins occupied the second position in terms of volume with eight deals, followed by White & Case with five deals, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher with five deals, and Latham & Watkins with three deals.