Law firms have something to smile about again as higher deal values swelled pockets for the lucky few. This comes against a backdrop of regulatory concerns, tariff risks, a US government shutdown, ongoing wars and political battles in Europe, and mixed fortunes in Asia-Pacific.

While deal count fell, deal values climbed to an eye-watering USD 3.5tn, as mega-deals (USD 10bn-plus) took centre stage amid a battle for technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI); large transformational deals; and non-core divestitures, as corporates realigned their business plans and balance sheets.

Latham & Watkins, as it had at the six-month point, and even in 9M24, retained its global crown, according to Mergermarket’s 9M25 global and regional M&A rankings. It also ranked first in Europe and the Americas, and seventh in the Asia Pacific.

The company acted on 13 of the 49 mega-deals announced this year, of which seven were in technology, while the others spanned sectors including mining, utilities, chemicals and consumer. Within its mega-deal haul, Latham & Watkins worked with the target/sell-side seven times and the buy-side six times. Notably, it worked with India’s Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas on two deals: one was its joint advice to target video streaming platform Worldpay in its pending USD 17bn takeover by Global Payments, and the other was its buy-side counsel to technology solutions processor Fidelity National Information Services in its USD 13.5bn approach for Global Payments’ Issuer Solutions business.

Just two other firms cleared USD 500bn in aggregate deal values: Kirkland & Ellis (up 28% year-on-year (YoY) to USD 572bn) and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz (up 11% to USD 512bn).

Kirkland & Ellis proved itself to be the US’ foremost buy-side legal counsel, acquiring assets mostly domestically, but also some abroad. Of its 560 deals, it worked with the buy-side about 70% of the time, on about 400 deals. Around 30% of these 400 mandates were to acquire technology targets.

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz worked on a flurry of mega-deals, providing sell-side advice not only to Norfolk Southern in its pending USD 88.2bn sale to Union Pacific, but also Electronic Arts (EA) on its blockbuster USD 56.5bn buyout by a consortium, including Affinity Partners, Silver Lake and Public Investment Fund (PIF) – the largest LBO in history.

Among the top 20 names, there were a few new faces, including Weil Gotshal & Manges and Slaughter and May, but the name with the biggest jump – both by YoY deal count and moving up 18 rungs on the ladder – was Sidley Austin (up 199% to USD 254bn) in 10th place. Its largest deal, which catapulted the company into the elite rankings, was its buy-side counsel to Affinity Partners on the aforementioned buyout of EA.

Four firms had more than 500 deals in 9M25, though with a more even spread than in 9M24. DLA Piper (720), Goodwin Procter (662), Latham & Watkins (602) and Kirkland & Ellis (562) took those slots – a significant shift from 9M24, when DLA Piper had 1,145 deals.

European performance

While operational details are still being ironed out in each case, the UK and EU’s separate trade agreements with the US in May and July, respectively, provided relative stability after the chaos that ensued following “Liberation Day” in April.

Against that backdrop – alongside executive vice-president Teresa Ribera’s modus operandi becoming clearer at the European Commission (EC) and reforms at the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) bedding in – 3Q25 saw dealmakers put their foot on the M&A accelerator.

Across the broader EMEA region, seven of the top 10 deals targeting regional assets in the year to date (YTD) were announced in the third quarter, including the EUR 15.7bn exit of evergreen investor JAB Holding from Dutch coffee brands player JDE Peet’s, sold to Keurig Dr Pepper.

Latham & Watkins jumped into Europe’s 9M25 top spot, with volumes of USD 215.5bn, up 64.3% YoY, and recording a 60:40 split between buy-side and sell-side roles, respectively. Climbing from third in 9M24 and second on the 1H25 read, landing a plum buy-side role on London-listed mining giant Anglo American’s pending USD 23.6bn takeover of Canada’s Teck Resources was a major shot in the arm for its league table standings. Announced last month, the deal also supported the firm’s No.1 ranking in the UK chart – maintaining that crown from 9M24.

Taking the silver, Freshfields slipped from pole position last year despite growing its deal haul 15% to USD 205.3bn. The firm emerged in 3Q25 with a top buy-side role in Merck’s USD 11.1bn acquisition of UK respiratory disease player Verona Pharma – a deal on which Latham & Watkins acted for the sell-side.

Staying with pharma, Freshfields worked sell-side for Bain Capital on the USD 8.2bn sale of German player Stada Arzneimittel to CapVest, a deal that opened the back-to-school period last month with a bang.

Our Europe bronze medallist, Kirkland & Ellis (USD 153.3bn, up 40.5% YoY), up from fourth in 9M24, scored CapVest’s mandate on that deal. Staying in Germany, the firm also won a buy-side mandate for TPG in the pending USD 7.8bn Partners Group-led consortium buyout of utility metering company Techem. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kirkland & Ellis grabbed the Germany top spot from seventh in 9M24.

Only two names broke into the top 10: A&O Shearman at four from 10 (USD 134.6bn, up 120.2% YoY); and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton at 10 from 11 (USD 85.5bn, up 42.7% YoY), the latter winning a buy-side role on the JDE Peet’s deal.

A&O Shearman boasted work on a crop of UK-listed takeovers in 1H25. In the third quarter, it took a premier buy-side role on Athora Holding’s pending USD 7.8bn acquisition of Pension Insurance Corp. This haul also lifted the player to fifth from last year’s 11th in the UK rankings.

Staying in the UK, that Teck/Anglo American mega-deal accounts for some outlier rankings in the top 10: Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz (fourth from 77); Stikeman Elliott (sixth from 88) and Torys (10 from 268). In a major turnaround from 1H25, which saw six of the top 10 law firms record declines in deal volume, only two in that tier have seen aggregate deal value fall by end-9M25.

American exceptionalism

The widespread uncertainty caused by US President Donald Trump’s administration hit the economy and political stability, spooking dealmakers from executing M&A with confidence. While the face of deal-making has shifted gears into the race for AI, and healthier, greener consumer choices, dealmakers have largely remained the same.

Latham & Watkins (up 63% to USD 538bn) just about managed to slip into the coveted first position by deal value, followed close on its heels – with less than a billion dollars’ worth of difference – by silver medal earner Kirkland & Ellis (up 27%, USD 538), which lost its gold spot from 9M24. Up four spots, in third position, was Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz (up 110% to USD 509bn).

Latham & Watkins worked with the buy-side on about 55% of its 481 deals, with targets mostly based in the US. It also displayed a technology bias, with targets from the space contributing to a big chunk of its deals. Its large clients included firms such as Silver Lake, in its pending play for EA; Cox Enterprises, in its USD 36bn sale of Cox Communications to Charter Communications; and power generator Calpine, in its USD 29bn takeover by Constellation Energy.

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz had a more balanced buy- and sell-side split between its 76 mandates, with almost 90% of its deals involving US-based companies. While one-third of its time was spent on tech mandates, it also had about 20 transactions in financial services.

Freshfields (up 90% to USD 291bn) and Sidley Austin (up 200% to USD 249bn) soared into the top 10 tables. Both firms earned a big chunk of their values from one blockbuster deal: about 30% of Freshfields’ count came from its counsel to Morgan Stanley, a buy-side financial advisor to Union Pacific in its blockbuster USD 88bn bid for Northern Suffolk, while on the same transaction, Sidley Austin advised the target.

In the US, Kirkland & Ellis took the gold, followed by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz with silver, and Latham & Watkins with bronze. The same names cropped up regionally, with Kirkland taking the gold in the northeast, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom in the midwest, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in the south, and Latham & Watkins in the west. Meanwhile, Stikeman Elliott jumped five spots to reign supreme in Canada, with a heady 175% jump in deal value.

In the deal count tables, Goodwin Procter gained two spots from 9M24 to take the lead, with 577 deals to its credit. It was followed by Kirkland & Ellis, resolute at number two; and Latham & Watkins, up two positions to land at third. Note that all three top players by count also worked on deals north of USD 100bn, indicating their prowess as dealmakers.

Asia-Pacific winners

The Asia-Pacific economy has fared stronger than previously expected, with stability in China appearing more assured, Japan ushering in a new – and first female – prime minister, and markets in India and Hong Kong steaming ahead, apparently oblivious of geopolitical economic headwinds.

King & Wood Mallesons (up 49% to USD 73bn) retained its gold medal from 9M25. It worked on two mega-deals in the region worth about half its total deal value. The company assisted the Bank of China in its minority stake sale to the Chinese finance ministry for USD 22.7bn; and the Chinese finance ministry in its USD 16.5bn joint bid with China National Tobacco for a minority stake in Bank of Communications. On its top third, fourth and fifth largest deals, the firm worked with Bain to sell cloud infrastructure portfolio Chindata Group; Japan’s Mitsui & Co to acquire iron-ore projects in Australia; and Australian home construction manufacturer Brickworks in its sale to domestic investment firm Washington H Soul Pattinson & Co.

Clifford Chance (up 193% to USD 65bn) also jumped 14 places from 9M24 to land at second, with its top two deals constituting more than half its total deal volume. These were its advisory role to Postal Savings Bank of China in its near-USD 18bn acquisition by a local consortium; and its work with China Construction Bank in its USD 14.5bn sale to China’s ministry of finance. In March 2025, China became the ninth foreign law company to tie up with local He Ping Law Firm to further strengthen its collaboration in the country.

India’s Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, down 4% YoY to USD 41bn, lost its coveted first place from 9M24. Its top deal was its buy-side advice to a private individual in her USD 10bn purchase of a 20.838% holding in software provider HCL Technologies.

India’s Khaitan & Co and China’s JiaYuan Law Offices climbed into the top 10 from their 11th and 20th spots, respectively, while Weil Gotshal & Manges and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison saw remarkable 774% and 429% gains to land at eighth and ninth, respectively.

The deal count front was dominated by local names, with Indian companies taking the top five spots: Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (143), Khaitan & Co (129), Trilegal (119), Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co (106), and AZB & Partners (97).