Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and CMS were the top mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal advisers in Europe in H1 2023, according to GlobalData’s latest league table.

The leading data and analytics company ranks advisers by the value and volume of M&A deals on which they advised.

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According to its financial deals database, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was the leading legal adviser in terms of value by advising on $36.9bn worth of deals. CMS led in terms of volume by advising on a total of 158 deals.

“Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and CMS were the clear winners, leaving behind their peers by a significant margin in terms of value and volume, respectively,” said GlobalData lead analyst Aurojyoti Bose. 

“Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was the only firm that managed to surpass the $30bn mark in total deal value in H1 2023. It advised on seven billion-dollar deals, which also included a mega deal valued more than $10bn. Meanwhile, CMS was the only firm to advise on three-digit deal volume in H1 2023.”

Kirkland & Ellis occupied the second position in terms of value, by advising on $22.4bn worth of deals, followed by Linklaters with $21.6bn, Allen & Overy with $19.9bn, and Hengeler Mueller with $17.5bn.

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Runners-up in terms of volume were White & Case with 74 deals, followed by Allen & Overy with 54 deals, Addleshaw Goddard with 51 deals, and Clifford Chance with 48 deals.

GlobalData’s league tables are based on the real-time tracking of thousands of company websites, advisory firm websites and other reliable sources available on the secondary domain. A dedicated team of analysts monitors all these sources to gather in-depth details for each deal, including adviser names.

To ensure further robustness to the data, the company also seeks submissions of deals from leading advisers.