The BigLaw firms are still the leading M&A legal advisers in terms of value and volume
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Kirkland & Ellis have held on to their top spots in GlobalData’s Legal Advisers League Table for Q1 2022.
The BigLaw firms were the leading M&A legal advisers in terms of deal value and volume for the first quarter of the year, as they were for Q1-Q3 2020.
“Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Kirkland & Ellis advised on several big-ticket deals in the quarter. They were among only three advisors that surpassed total deal values over US$100bn,” GlobalData lead analyst Aurojyoti Bose said.
Skadden took the crown on deal value, having assisted on four “mega-deals” that were valued at a minimum of US$10bn, according to GlobalData’s financial deals database. In fact, one deal was valued at over US$50bn. In total, the value of the deals the firm advised on for the quarter came to US$144bn.
Simpson, Thatcher and Bartlett was at Skadden’s heels with its work on US$116bn worth of M&A deals.
Meanwhile, Kirkland & Ellis led the board on deal volume, with 212 transactions under its belt. The deals were valued at US$102bn.
“Kirkland & Ellis also advised on three mega-deals and resultantly managed to secure the third position by value. Kirkland & Ellis was also the only firm to advise on more than 200 deals during Q1 2022,” Bose pointed out.
Latham and Watkins was a distant second on deal volume, guiding 121 deals.
