Latham & Watkins led the global M&A legal advisor rankings by deal value in the first half of the year, following the strongest first six months for dealmaking since 2022, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group.

The Los Angeles-founded firm worked on 380 deals worth just short of $277.5bn, roughly 20% higher than second-place Sullivan & Cromwell, which worked on 92 deals worth $229.5bn. 

Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz rose to third place, having worked on 55 deals worth $204.9bn, while Kirkland & Ellis, which topped the 2024 global ranking, and Skadden, which led at the halfway stage last year, completed the top five, working on deals worth $203.4bn and $173.3bn, respectively.

Freshfields was the highest-ranked non-US firm, placing seventh after working on just over 100 deals worth $166.7bn. The next highest non-US firm was A&O Shearman, ranking 11th, followed by Linklaters (13th). 

Notable entrants among the top 25 firms were Japan’s Nishimura & Asahi (15th) and Mori Hamada & Matsumoto (20th), which rose from 72nd and 100th place in the first half of last year respectively, off the back of a record M&A market in Japan. 

Other notable gainers were King & Wood Mallesons, which shot up from 70th place in H1 2024 to 17th place, Norton Rose Fulbright (64th to 24th) and Fenwick & West (44th to 25th). 

Worldwide M&A activity clocked in at $1.98trn in the first half, 33% higher than a year ago and the best start to a year since 2022. Despite the increase in deal value, the number of deals declined by 10% to a five-year low of just over 24,000.

US-targeted M&A accounted for the bulk of dealmaking (43%), though that is down from 51% a year ago and the lowest percentage for US deal-making since the first half of 2022.

Asia Pacific dealmaking rebounded strongly in the first half, totalling $408.8bn – an 82% increase and the strongest period for M&A in the region in three years. In contrast, European M&A decreased by 4% to $340.6bn, a two-year low. 

There were 32 deals worth more than $10bn collectively valued at $606.9bn, an increase of 78% compared to 2024 levels and marking the strongest first half for megadeals, by number, since records began in 1980. 

Technology, financials and energy and power-related M&A accounted for the majority of deals. Private equity-backed transactions accounted for 21% of M&A activity, down very slightly from 22% in H1 2024, although overall value increased to $413.3bn, an increase of 24% compared to a year ago and the strongest first half for private equity dealmaking in two years. 

Goodwin Procter led the M&A rankings by deal volume, working on 404 deals worth $48.8bn. Latham followed with 380 deals, while Cooley was third with 365 deals.