Source: GlobalData
Kirkland & Ellis was the top M&A legal adviser in Q1 2025, finds GlobalData
Posted in Business Fundamentals
Kirkland & Ellis has emerged as the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal adviser in Q1 2025 in terms of both value and volume on the latest Legal Advisers League Table by GlobalData, which ranks legal advisers by the value and volume of mergers and acquisition (M&A) deals on which they advised.
Based on its Deals Database, the leading data and analytics company has revealed that Kirkland & Ellis achieved the leading position by advising on 108 deals worth $107 billion.
Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Kirkland & Ellis outpaced its peers by a significant margin during Q1 2025 and was the clear winner by deal volume as well as value. It was the only firm with triple-digit deal volume during the review period. Moreover, it was also the only adviser with total deal value surpassing $100 billion.
“Kirkland & Ellis registered double-digit jump in total value of deals advised by it during Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024. Resultantly, it went ahead from occupying the fourth position by value in Q1 2024 to top the chart by this metric in Q1 2025. Kirkland & Ellis advised on 21 billion-dollar deals*, which also included two mega deals valued more than $10 billion. Involvement in these big-ticket deals helped Kirkland & Ellis to register improvement in terms of value as well as the ranking by this metric.”
An analysis of GlobalData’s Deals Database reveals that Davis Polk & Wardwell occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $77 billion worth of deals followed by Cravath Swaine & Moore with $60.3 billion, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom with $57.4 billion and Ropes & Gray with $56.3 billion.
Meanwhile, Latham & Watkins occupied the second position in terms of volume by advising on 67 deals followed by CMS with 51 deals, White & Case with 50 deals, and Ropes & Gray with 49 deals.
*Deals valued more than or equal to $1 billion