October 23, 2026 — Legal powerhouse Kirkland & Ellis has captured the number one position among mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers by both deal value and deal volume for the first three quarters of 2026. According to the latest Legal Advisers League Table released by GlobalData, the firm cemented its market dominance between January and September by advising on hundreds of major corporate transactions.
Data compiled from GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database indicates that Kirkland & Ellis advised on a staggering 410 transactions during the first nine months of the year, carrying a combined aggregate value of $515.7bn. This dual-category leadership highlights not only the firm’s capacity to handle massive transactional volume but also its growing footprint in guiding higher-value, complex corporate combinations across the global market.
The league tables offer a comprehensive snapshot of the competitive legal landscape underpinning global corporate dealmaking. As economic conditions shift and corporate strategy adapts to new market realities, the performance of top-tier law firms serves as an essential barometer of broader business confidence, cross-border investment, and private equity activity.
Competitive Landscape and Runner-Up Rankings
While Kirkland & Ellis claimed the ultimate crown by securing the top spot across both key performance metrics, competition among elite global law firms remained intensely fierce throughout the first three quarters of 2026.
In terms of overall deal value, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison secured the second-position ranking. The firm established a formidable presence in the upper echelon of the market by advising on transactions with a combined value of $441.3bn.
Close behind in the value rankings was Sullivan & Cromwell, which claimed third place with a total deal value of $407bn. Rounding out the top tier of value-generating legal advisers were Latham & Watkins and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Latham & Watkins recorded a total deal value of $362.4bn, while Skadden, Arps brought in $289bn in aggregate deal value over the same nine-month reporting period.
The landscape shifted somewhat when evaluating firms purely by transaction volume—the sheer number of individual deals steered by legal teams. While Kirkland & Ellis led this category as well, Latham & Watkins demonstrated remarkable operational scale, securing second place by volume after advising on an impressive 375 separate deals between January and September.
Other major global practices also made substantial showings in the volume rankings. DLA Piper handled 219 transactions during the period, followed closely by White & Case, which advised on 209 deals. Rounding out this segment of the volume league table, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher registered 165 completed transactions.
Analyzing the Drivers Behind Kirkland & Ellis’s Surge
Providing deeper context into the numbers, Aurojyoti Bose, lead analyst at GlobalData, pointed out the notable trajectory of Kirkland & Ellis’s market performance over consecutive years.
"Kirkland & Ellis was the top adviser by volume during Q1-Q3 2025 and continued to maintain its dominance in volume ranking chart during Q1-Q3 2026 as well," Bose observed. "Moreover, its ranking by value improved from third to the top spot."
Bose emphasized that the firm’s ability to sustain its high transactional volume while dramatically elevating its financial footprint was the defining narrative of the period. While the raw count of deals advised on by Kirkland & Ellis remained remarkably steady year-over-year when comparing the first three quarters of 2026 to the same timeframe in 2025, the firm achieved a staggering 25.1% growth in total deal value.
This substantial financial leap was primarily fueled by the firm’s involvement in high-stakes corporate transactions. During the first nine months of 2026, Kirkland & Ellis advised on 72 separate billion-dollar deals. Within that elite cohort of transactions were eight massive mega-deals, each valued at more than $10bn.
"The involvement in these big-ticket deals helped Kirkland & Ellis register the jump in terms of value and secure the top spot by this metric," Bose added, illustrating how positioning a practice to capture upper-market mega-transactions can decisively tilt competitive league table standings.
Methodology Behind the League Tables
GlobalData’s legal league tables and financial insights are built upon comprehensive, real-time tracking mechanisms. The research process involves monitoring thousands of primary and secondary sources, including company websites, advisory firm press releases, regulatory filings, and other reliable public domain information.
To ensure the highest standard of accuracy and depth, a dedicated team of analysts continuously reviews these sources to capture granular details regarding corporate transactions, including the precise identification of legal advisers, financial advisers, and accountants involved in each mandate.
To further fortify the robustness and completeness of the dataset, GlobalData actively invites leading advisory firms to submit their transaction details directly through established industry channels. This combination of rigorous independent research and direct industry contribution allows market participants, analysts, and observers to rely on the league tables as a trusted benchmark for assessing legal advisory performance on a global scale.
