Kirkland & Ellis has achieved a notable milestone in the competitive world of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) reaching the top of the league tables compiled by sources such as Dealogic and LSEG, which monitor the volume of M&A transactions advised by law firms.
In 2023, Kirkland & Ellis, Number 8 on LawFuel’s Most Prestigious Law Firms List, led the field with an advisory role in transactions amounting to $406.4 billion globally. This accomplishment gave the firm a market share of approximately 13 percent in the highly competitive legal landscape, as reported by Dealogic.
Latham & Watkins and Sullivan & Cromwell followed in the rankings, securing the second and third spots, respectively.
The overall global M&A volumes for the year reached around $3.13 trillion, indicating a robust environment for M&A activity.
Kirkland’s dominance was not limited to the global arena; the firm also topped the charts for transactions within the U.S., the world’s largest M&A market. Sarkis Jebejian, an M&A partner at Kirkland, attributed this success to the firm’s diversified practice across deal sizes, client types, industries, and geographies. He highlighted their strong market share in transactions valued between $5 billion and $15 billion as a key driver of this achievement.
Throughout 2023, Kirkland advised on several major deals. Notable transactions included ONEOK’s $19 billion acquisition of Magellan Midstream Partners, GTCR’s purchase of a 55% stake in Fidelity National Information Services unit Worldpay for $11.7 billion, and CVS Health’s $10.6 billion takeover of Oak Street Health.
Over the past decade, Kirkland has bolstered its M&A and private equity advisory capabilities by attracting top legal talents from rival firms, which includes hires like Eric Schiele from Cravath, Swaine & Moore; David Klein from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; and Edward Lee, a high-profile addition from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in 2020.
Daniel Wolf, an M&A partner at Kirkland, reflected on the evolution of the firm’s public company M&A practice, which transformed from a nascent practice requiring external hiring to a mature one with a robust internal pipeline.
Achieving the top spot in the M&A advisory league tables is a coveted accolade in the field, sought after by a wide range of players including investment banks, white-shoe law firms, boutique advisory firms, and crisis communications firms. The M&A rankings serve as critical marketing tools for attracting new business and retaining top talent within the industry.
While Goldman Sachs has maintained a stronghold in the investment banking M&A advisory rankings, the legal advisory league tables have seen more dynamic competition. Over the past decade, Sullivan & Cromwell has topped the rankings four times, and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom twice.
The infographic (above) provides a visual representation of the M&A league table rankings for law firms, highlighting the top firms based on M&A transaction values.
