Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Kirkland & Ellis secured the top spots by value and volume in Q1 2023 on the latest Legal Advisers League Table by GlobalData, which ranks legal advisers by the respective value and number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals on which they advised.

Based on its Financial Deals Database, the leading data and analytics company reveals that Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz achieved its leading position in the deal value rankings by advising on $72 billion worth of deals. Meanwhile, Kirkland & Ellis led by volume, advising on a total of 120 deals.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Kirkland & Ellis emerged as the clear winner by volume, as it was the only firm to advise on more than 100 deals during Q1 2023. Moreover, it also managed to advise on some big-ticket deals, which helped it occupy the third position by value as well. Kirkland & Ellis advised on 18 billion-dollar deals*, which also included one mega deal valued more than $10 billion.

“Meanwhile, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, despite advising on less than one-fifth of the number of deals advised by Kirkland & Ellis, led the chart by value. Involvement in the Pfizer-Seagen M&A deal worth $43 billion was pivotal for Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in occupying the top position by value.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $71 billion worth of deals, followed by Kirkland & Ellis with $60 billion, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld with $57 billion, and Goodwin Procter with $55 billion.

CMS occupied the second position in terms of volume by advising on 80 deals, followed by White & Case with 72 deals, Jones Day with 72 deals, and Latham & Watkins with 68 deals.

*Deals valued more than or equal to $1 billion