Kirkland & Ellis has secured the number one ranking among mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers by both aggregate deal value and total transaction volume during the first three quarters of 2026, according to the latest Legal Advisers League Table released by GlobalData. The data, compiled from GlobalData’s comprehensive Financial Deals Database, highlights a dominant performance by the firm through the first nine months of the year, driven by a significant uptick in high-value transactions and mega-deals.
Between January and September 2026, Kirkland & Ellis advised on a staggering 410 transactions, carrying a combined total value of $515.7bn. This exceptional performance allowed the firm to outpace its industry competitors across multiple key performance metrics, underscoring its leading position within the global legal and corporate advisory landscape.
The latest league tables reflect a fiercely competitive environment among top-tier global law firms as they navigate shifting macroeconomic currents, regulatory scrutiny, and corporate restructuring trends. While transaction volumes remained remarkably steady for industry leaders, shifts in aggregate deal values reshaped the upper echelons of the advisory rankings for the first three quarters of the year.
Strong Competition Among Elite Legal Advisers
Following closely behind Kirkland & Ellis in terms of aggregate deal value, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison captured the second-tier position by advising on transactions totaling $441.3bn. The firm maintained a powerful presence in major corporate transactions, securing a prominent position in the upper tiers of the global league tables.
Sullivan & Cromwell followed immediately behind in third place by deal value, recording a total of $407bn across its advised transactions. Meanwhile, Latham & Watkins secured fourth place by value with a total of $362.4bn, closely followed by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, which recorded a combined deal value of $289bn for the corresponding nine-month period.
In terms of transaction volume, Latham & Watkins cemented its reputation as a powerhouse of deal activity, ranking second overall after advising on 375 deals between January and September. DLA Piper followed with 219 completed transactions, while White & Case handled 209 deals. Rounding out the top volume firms for the period, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher advised on 165 transactions.
Strategic Drivers Behind Kirkland & Ellis’s Rise
Aurojyoti Bose, lead analyst at GlobalData, provided deeper context regarding the shifts observed in the latest rankings. Highlighting the trajectory of the top-performing firm, Bose noted that Kirkland & Ellis had previously demonstrated leadership in transaction volume during the corresponding period in 2025, a dominance it successfully defended through the first three quarters of 2026. However, the firm’s most notable achievement over the past year was its upward movement in aggregate deal value.
While Kirkland & Ellis held the third position by value during the first nine months of the previous year, strategic involvement in larger, high-stakes corporate transactions propelled the firm to the number one position by value for Q1-Q3 2026. This ascent was characterized not by a raw expansion in the number of mandates secured, but rather by a substantial increase in the financial scale of the transactions managed by the firm.
According to GlobalData’s market intelligence, the total volume of transactions advised by Kirkland & Ellis remained entirely flat when comparing the first three quarters of 2026 to the same period in 2025. Despite this parity in deal count, the firm registered an impressive 25.1% growth in total aggregate deal value over the same timeframe.
This substantial financial expansion was primarily fueled by the firm’s active participation in marquee, high-ticket transactions. During the first three quarters of 2026, Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel on 72 separate transactions valued at $1bn or more. Crucially, this tally included eight distinct mega-deals, each valued in excess of $10bn. Involvement in these monumental corporate combinations provided the necessary financial momentum for the firm to capture the top ranking by value, complementing its longstanding dominance in transaction volume.
Methodology Behind the GlobalData League Tables
The league tables compiled by GlobalData rely on real-time tracking of extensive information sources spanning thousands of corporate websites, specialized advisory firm portals, and other verified secondary domain networks. To ensure accuracy and thoroughness, a dedicated team of financial and industry analysts monitors these channels continuously, extracting detailed metrics for every recorded transaction, including the identification of legal and financial advisers.
To maintain the highest standards of data integrity and robustness within its Financial Deals Database, GlobalData actively collaborates with the advisory community. The organization routinely invites leading global law firms and corporate advisers to submit details regarding their closed transactions directly, ensuring that comprehensive and up-to-date information is integrated into the final league table calculations.
