Paul Hastings and AZB & Partners were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region during the first half (H1) 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 Paul Hastings achieved its leading position in terms of value by advising on $23.1 billion worth of deals. Meanwhile, AZB & Partners led in terms of volume by advising on a total of 24 deals.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Paul Hastings was the clear winner by value, outpacing its peers by a significant margin. It was the only adviser to surpass $20 billion mark in total deal value. Involvement in the $22.8 billion deal for the acquisition of a majority stake in ports from CK Hutchison Holdings and Panama Ports by a consortium of investors played a pivotal role in Paul Hastings leading the chart by value.

“Meanwhile,  AZB & Partners led by volume but faced close competition from TriLegal. AZB & Partners registered improvement in the total number of deals advised by it during H1 2025 compared to H1 2024. Resultantly, its ranking by volume also improved from the third position in H1 2024 to the top position in H1 2025.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Deals Database reveals that TriLegal occupied the second position in terms of volume with 24 deals, followed by Khaitan & Co with 20 deals, J Sagar Associates with 14 deals, and Baker McKenzie with 12 deals.

Meanwhile, Clifford Chance occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $9.9 billion worth of deals, followed by King & Wood Mallesons with $9 billion, Khaitan & Co with $8.3 billion, and Sullivan & Cromwell with $8 billion.