Latham & Watkins, Kirkland & Ellis Lead 2025 Global M&a Legal Rankings

The 2 rule firms Latham & Watkins and Kirkland & Ellis topped nan ineligible advisor charts for world M&A successful 2025, information shows.

According to deals information compiled by GlobalData – Just Food‘s genitor – Latham & Watkins worked connected deals weighted astatine $740.4bn past year.

In nan food-and-beverage market, nan transactions included Coca-Cola HBC’s move successful October to buy a mostly liking successful Coca-Cola Beverages Africa.

Kirkland & Ellis, meanwhile, provided ineligible counsel connected 537 deals successful 2025, topping convention array erstwhile measuring nan measurement of transactions.

The patient advised connected deals including Ferrero’s statement successful July to acquire US-based meal cereals business WK Kellogg for $3.1bn.

“Of nan 526 deals advised by Latham & Watkins during 2025, 108 were billion-dollar deals that besides included 17 mega deals weighted astatine aliases much than $10bn. The engagement successful these big-ticket deals helped Latham & Watkins apical nan array by worth successful 2025,” GlobalData lead expert Aurojyoti Bose said.

“Kirkland & Ellis was nan apical advisor successful 2024 by measurement and managed to clasp its activity position successful 2025 arsenic good but faced adjacent title from Latham & Watkins. Both nan rule firms were nan only 2 advisers pinch much than 500 deals during 2025. While Kirkland & Ellis led pinch 537 deals, Latham & Watkins followed intimately to inhabit nan 2nd spot pinch 526 deals.”

Credit: GlobalData

The rankings show Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz classed 2nd erstwhile measuring nan worth of transactions, advisory connected deals worthy $711bn.

Kirkland & Ellis was third, offering proposal connected $633.5bn worthy of deals.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Sullivan & Cromwell completed nan apical 5 by value, moving connected transactions worthy $627.5bn and $490.3bn respectively.

In position of woody volume, Latham & Watkins took nan 2nd spot pinch 526 deals, followed by CMS successful nan 3rd spot pinch engagement successful 348 transactions.

DLA Piper and White & Case rounded retired nan apical 5 by volume, advising connected 316 and 290 deals respectively.

GlobalData’s league tables are based connected nan real-time search of thousands of sources including institution websites and advisory patient websites. A dedicated squad of analysts monitors each these sources to stitchery in-depth specifications for each deal, including advisor names. 

To guarantee further robustness to nan data, nan institution besides seeks submissions of deals from starring advisers. 

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