Source: Above the Law
M&A went wild last year, and 2026 looks even better.
A new report confirms what M&A associates already knew in their bones: the mergers and acquisitions market wasn’t just hot last year, it was record-setting.
According to data released this week by the London Stock Exchange Group, 2025 featured the most-ever M&A mega-deals, with 68 transactions clocking in at $10 billion or more. Globally, M&A value hit a staggering $4.6 trillion, representing a 49% increase over 2024.
And if you’re wondering who made out like bandits in this frenzy of consolidation? The usual suspects didn’t exactly miss the party.
Kirkland Still Dominates
Sitting comfortably atop the rankings once again is Kirkland & Ellis, which served as principal adviser on $829 billion worth of deals. Kirkland was joined in the stratosphere by Latham & Watkins, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, and Skadden Arps each advising on $600 billion or more in transactions last year.
Michael Weisser, a private equity partner at Kirkland, put it bluntly to Reuters: “There’s no doubt that the legal market has sort of bifurcated and there is a flight to the top.”
So if you’re not already elite, good luck getting invited to the table.
The Rich Get Richer
Latham’s Alex Kelly echoed the point, predicting the stratification will only deepen. As deals grow “in volume, complexity and geographic reach,” clients are increasingly relying on a smaller cadre of firms to get the job done.
Goodwin Procter took the top spot for number of deals, advising on 945 transactions worth $123 billion. Vice chair Stuart Cable told Reuters there’s “no reason to be anything other than highly optimistic” about 2026.
Meanwhile, Wachtell’s Adam Emmerich and Jacob Kling suggested that even this banner year might just be a warm-up act. “We are neck deep in ongoing deals, and the pipeline is bulging as well,” they said.
Which is probably thrilling news if you’re a partner and a scheduling nightmare if you’re an associate with a holiday request pending.
What This Means for the Market
The numbers tell a clear story: M&A isn’t just recovering, it’s accelerating. And the market is increasingly concentrated at the top, with a handful of elite firms capturing the lion’s share of premium work.
For firms already in that tier, 2026 looks set to be another champagne year. For everyone else? The gap is widening.
Read more: Above the Law
