Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and CMS were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers in the construction sector 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 Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz achieved its leading position in terms of value by advising on $19.8 billion worth of deals. Meanwhile, CMS led in terms of volume by advising on a total of 17 deals.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “CMS was the top adviser by deal volume in H1 2024 and managed to retain its leadership position by this metric in H1 2025 as well. It was one of only two advisers with double-digit deal volume during H1 2025.

“Meanwhile, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, despite advising on only three deals, managed to top the chart by value in H1 2025. There was more than a three-fold jump in the total value of deals advised by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz during H1 2025 compared to H1 2024. It went ahead from occupying the 10^th position by value in H1 2024 to the top position by this metric in H1 2025.

“Of the three deals advised by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz during H1 2025, two were billion-dollar deals* that also included a mega deal valued more than $10 billion. Involvement in these big-tickets deals helped Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz register improvement in terms of value and secure the top position by this metric.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Deals Database reveals that Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $17.3 billion worth of deals, followed by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett with $15.6 billion, Ropes & Gray with $13.6 billion, and Sidley Austin with $12.6 billion.

Meanwhile, Kirkland & Ellis occupied the second position in terms of volume with 12 deals, followed by Latham & Watkins with nine deals, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison with eight deals, and Baker McKenzie with eight deals.