Latham & Watkins is outpacing all law firms by advising on the largest dollar volume of global deals through the first three quarters of 2018, according to data from Bloomberg.

Movers and shakers

Latham surpassed Sullivan & Cromwell in the third quarter to take the top market share (11.6 percent) of global transactions. The firm ended September with a year-to-date total of 298 deals valued at a collective $351.8 billion. Among financial advisers, Morgan Stanley kept its lead over the competition, despite its market share of global deals (25.6 percent) dropping 4.4 percent from June 30. The investment bank advised on 242 transactions worth a collective $775.5 billion. Sullivan & Cromwell was shaken from the top held at the year’s midway point, falling $4.7 billion behind Latham’s deal volume as of September 30. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton comes a close third in terms of market share among legal advisers at 11.5 percent, though its deal volume was considerably behind Sullivan & Cromwell by $266 million. The firm advised on 72 transactions through the end of September. A big mover was Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, jumping up four spots from its mid-year ranking. The firm’s 10.9 percent market share is based on 59 deals worth a collective $328.6 billion. Fifth spot went to Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, with an annual deal volume of $287.9 billion and market share of 9.5 percent.

No change here

The top four financial advisers based on deal volume at the third quarter’s end remained unchanged from June 30, although each company’s market share decreased by at least 1.3 percent. Goldman Sachs trails Morgan Stanley by $107.3 billion but advised on 28 more transactions. JPMorgan Chase 78 transactions in the third quarter brings its deal annual deal count to 244, followed by Citigroup and Barclays , which pushed Evercore from the fifth spot.